Your next car could use Apple Car Key unlocking, with new brands signing up – including Porsche

If you're an iPhone user, one of the coolest features available to you comes with a range of new cars. That allows users to lock and unlock the vehicle without using their keys.

Instead, users are able to use the Apple Wallet app as a faux key fob. That means you can gain access to the car with either your iPhone or your Apple Watch – no physical keys required.

There were already a good array of brands signed up to the service – and now there's another swathe of brands added on. That includes:

• Acura
• Cadillac
• Chery
• Chevrolet
• GMC
• Hongqi
• Lucid
• Porsche
• Rivian
• Smart
• Tata
• Voyah
• WEY

The additions bring the total number of brands involved to 33. Those already involved in the functionality include household names like Audi, Lotus, Mercedes, BMW, Polestar.

There is, however, no indication of just how quickly those brands will gain support from Apple. There is currently no timeline to indicate just how quickly those features will be available to users.

How does Keyless Entry through Apple Wallet work?

As explained in this article from 9to5Mac, there are three main methods of using a virtual car key. Which is used will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer – it could even vary from model to model – so it's important to do you homework.

The first is Passive Entry. That works much like your wildest Tony Stark fantasies – walk up to, sit inside of and leave your vehicle with the relevant device on your person and watch everything unlock, start and lock without doing anything else.

Next up is Proximity, which is vaguely similar. You'll have to hold the device near the door handle or another spot for reading the key, but otherwise it's much the same.

The final method is a full remote unlocking option. That enables users to lock and unlock their car remotely, as well as making use of other features from a distance.