The Future of the Car Key

Decades of a dominating automotive industry have led to some amazing advances in safety and infotainment technology, but the car key, which has already seen a huge departure from a metal strip with a unique encoding, gets its next big jump. INFINITI is launching its first Virtual Key as part of the brand’s Choose Your Accessory Program. A smartphone acting as your vehicle’s key is exactly as it sounds, and big jumps in connected services, as well as the all-encompassing function of smartphones, have allowed us to ditch the fob and move into a new era. There are a world of benefits that come along with having your car key integrated into your smartphone, and Bob Moore INFINITI is excited to share the amazing benefits of such a technology.

More Convenient

At this point, we can all remember our parents or grandparents searching desperately around the house for their set of keys mere minutes before departure, and even with key fobs, you may have fallen victim to the perils of disorganization or large-bottomed purses. A car key integrated within an app on your smartphone puts those days behind you permanently, as over 70% of Americans own a smartphone and along with it many use it for business communication, social media, music access, navigation, and more. With INFINITI’s integrated smartphone key, you can do all of the things your standard key fob can do, including unlocking and locking your doors, opening your trunk, and a panic button. The Virtual Key adds in more functions, as it can also start your vehicle remotely, give you a remaining time timer before your vehicle turns off automatically, and can also monitor and manage utilization.

More Secure

Beyond the frustrations of losing your keys, INFINITI aims to help its drivers and their vehicles stay more secure with the utilization of the Virtual Key. Each owner connects to their vehicle through an authentication process involving connecting to the proper vehicle’s VIN number. Additionally, you can add new users to your vehicle and send them the proper key code information which they, in turn, use with their smartphones. You can monitor everyone’s usage right from your vehicle’s ownership dashboard. At the end of your ownership period of your vehicle, its also easy to fully transfer ownership from one INFINITI driver to the next. The Virtual Key can even help you rest easy during your day-to-day activities because with embedded smartphone technology you no longer have to worry about someone stealing your car keys.

Part of the INFINITI Future

Along with everything that INFINITI looks to be rolling out within the next several years including new and exciting vehicles, advanced interior technology, and more, the Virtual Key looks to take a permanent position within the company. In slightly different formats, there is already a wide usage of smartphone virtual keys being used with commercial vehicles, rideshares, and more. With the integration of such technology, owning a vehicle just got a lot more convenient.