Why do we all still carry car keys?

My iPhone Wallet stores theater and transit tickets and all my credit and debit cards and lets me move like a boss through my gym’s turnstiles. The technology works flawlessly, requiring only my proximity or the slightest tilt of the device to my face. The biometric goodness means I have few security concerns, even accessing my bank accounts.

So… why do I still open my EV with a key?

Well, it’s more than just a metal key; it’s a passive electronic key with proximity-based radio signaling, which means I don’t have to press anything to unlock my car. But still, it’s a bacteria-rich, easy-to-lose brand-name plastic blob that I don’t really need anymore. And I haven’t needed it in a few years.

BMW 5 Series owners have been using smartphones to unlock, start and digitally share access to their luxury cars since 2021, the year after Apple introduced its aptly titled Car Key. Audi, Kia and Hyundai later rolled out support for the feature. During the WWDC 2025 keynote in June, Apple said 13 additional vehicle brands would be joining them « soon, » including Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC and Porsche. « Soon » seems to mean 2026.

Tesla Model 3 owners have had access with a digital key since 2017, when the midsize sedan was released without a key; it could only be opened with a smartphone. Subsequently, digital car manufacturers Rivian and Polestar also enabled the use of a digital key. (« Digital Key has been removed from the upcoming 2025.34 software update for further testing, » noted a recent update from Rivian. The company’s communications team tells WIRED it will be available again « soon. »)

Owners of the latest high-end Ford vehicles can use digital keys. Still, the Dearborn, Michigan-based company clearly isn’t ready to give up on keychains—in October, it released the $200 Truckle, an ornate Western-style belt buckle with a cavity to fit the oversized F-150 key fob so it never gets lost or ruins the line of your jeans.

Courtesy of Ford

Digital for all

Phone-as-a-key functionality isn’t just for select luxury cars. The wired MoboKey ​​device turns a smartphone into a digital key and can be installed by an auto electrician on almost any modern car, gas or electric.

Similarly, KeyDIY, a Chinese smart key manufacturer, sells a USB-powered box of tricks that allows almost any car to work with a digital key. The box captures car tethering signals – Flipper-Zero style – emulating the rolling codes that key fobs use to thwart signal-amplifying « relay » attacks, where criminals use antennas and extension cords to pick up signals from a car’s key fob. (Always store your key fob in a Faraday cage.) KeyDIY’s box, which lives in the car, is triggered by a device connected instantaneously to the car’s on-board diagnostic port.

The key to meaning

In short, the picture here is that digital key technology is mature and (mostly) secure, and we’re perfectly happy to use Bluetooth low energy, near field communication (NFC) and ultra-wideband (UWB) for the rest of our lives – unless you’re a cash-strapped conspiracy theorist, that is. – so why do so many of us still seem so attached to our physical belts?

« Most people are reluctant to go without the physical backup of an actual key, » says Shawn Tucker, managing editor of automotive research company Kelley Blue Book. And, he adds, picking up the keychain is now an ingrained habit. There are also emotional factors to consider.

« A car key is full of meaning, » says Stefan Goesling, a professor at Linnaeus University in Sweden and author of The psychology of the car. « Jingling them allows some drivers to show off their vehicle, even if the car isn’t nearby. Car keys are also comforting for some, a physical reminder that your vehicle is there to get you there; to protect you. »