Toyota Adopts Apple Wallet Car Keys with a Catch
Unlocking convenience meets a new subscription reality for drivers.
The steady march toward a wallet-free future continues. Apple’s digital Car Key feature—allowing drivers to unlock, lock, and start their vehicles using an iPhone or Apple Watch—has secured a major new partner: Toyota. The world’s largest automaker is now rolling out support, beginning with select trims of its 2026 RAV4 in the United States.
This move marks a significant moment for the technology, bringing digital keys out of luxury circles (BMW, Mercedes-Benz) and into the mainstream. However, Toyota’s version comes with a crucial caveat: a required paid subscription. This wrinkle may shape the debate around connected car features and modern vehicle ownership.
How Toyota’s Digital Key Works
Apple introduced its digital car key feature in 2020 as a secure, convenient alternative to traditional key fobs. Toyota’s system uses the most advanced version yet, leveraging the Ultra Wideband (UWB) chip found in modern iPhones and Apple Watches.
Here’s what sets this implementation apart:
Passive Entry: Early versions required tapping your device on the door handle using NFC. With UWB, you can simply keep your iPhone in your pocket or your Apple Watch on your wrist—the car unlocks as you approach.
Spatial Awareness: UWB enables precise spatial awareness, allowing the car to know exactly where you are in relation to it. Doors unlock as you near the vehicle and lock as you walk away.
Seamless Start: Once inside, there’s no need to place your device on a charging pad or sensor; just start the vehicle as you normally would.
This technology delivers on the promise of a truly keyless experience, integrating seamlessly into the Apple ecosystem and elevating convenience beyond what’s possible with a traditional key fob.
Compatibility Requirements
To use passive entry, your device must feature a UWB chip:
iPhone: iPhone 11 or newer (excluding iPhone SE models and iPhone 16e)
Apple Watch: Series 6 or newer
Devices without UWB support typically revert to the standard NFC-based “tap-to-unlock” method, but the passive experience is clearly the main event.
The Subscription Controversy
While the technology is impressive, its implementation is raising eyebrows. To use Apple Wallet Car Keys with a Toyota, drivers must maintain an active Remote Connect subscription. This service—which provides remote start, vehicle status checks, and more—costs $15 per month after the first year, which is included free with new vehicle purchases.
This decision places a recurring fee on a feature many believe should be bundled into the vehicle’s purchase price. The move taps directly into the contentious industry trend of “Features as a Service” (FaaS), where manufacturers seek recurring revenue from core capabilities already built into the car.
Critics argue that, unlike streaming services or data plans, a car key is fundamental to ownership. Locking this utility behind a recurring paywall has drawn backlash, particularly from those who feel the ability to access and operate their vehicle should not require ongoing fees atop an already significant investment.
What happens if a user lets their Remote Connect subscription lapse? The digital key in Apple Wallet will likely be deactivated, forcing a return to the physical key fob. This fundamentally alters the value proposition of digital keys and could give pause to buyers wary of subscription-driven car features.
Broader Industry Impact
Toyota’s embrace of Apple Wallet Car Keys is a strong vote of confidence in the technology. As the world’s top-selling car maker, Toyota’s decision will likely accelerate the adoption of digital car keys, encouraging other mainstream brands to follow.
Normalizing Digital Keys
Given Toyota’s enormous market footprint, millions of new drivers will soon have access to digital car keys. This expansion will help shift digital keys from an exclusive, high-end luxury to a mainstream automotive expectation.
The Battle Over Subscriptions
Conversely, Toyota’s subscription-based model sets a potentially fraught industry precedent. If successful, it could inspire other automakers to place additional features behind paywalls. The future will hinge on consumer response: Will convenient digital keys convince owners to pay a monthly fee, or will customer pushback inspire a strategy change?
Strengthening the Apple Ecosystem
For Apple, this is a strategic win. Every automaker that joins Car Keys further cements the iPhone and Apple Watch as the digital hub of daily life, deepening users’ ties to the Apple ecosystem. Cars become yet another powerful access point in Apple’s expanding network of connected devices and services.
The Road Ahead
Integrating Apple Wallet Car Keys into Toyota vehicles marks a major step toward smarter, more convenient automotive experiences. UWB-powered passive entry showcases this technology at its best, delivering seamless interaction that feels both advanced and intuitive.
Still, the subscription model casts a shadow over this advancement. It raises important questions about what should be included with a new vehicle, and where automakers draw the line on recurring fees. While the technology itself is a win, the business model could prove to be the real obstacle to widespread, frictionless adoption. In the end, the success of digital keys may depend not just on their technical strengths, but on whether they’re delivered as a true added value, not as an added cost.
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