A Tesla FCC document shared by The Verge suggests that future Tesla cars will support Ultra Wideband, a technology built into the latest iPhones and vehicles, allowing for greater precision when unlocking a car with a smartphone.
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Tesla submitted documentation in September for the new key fobs, controller, and endpoints that would be installed inside a vehicle’s chassis and cabin, some of which support ultra-broadband communication. . Tesla uses a standard implementation of the Ultra Wideband, so it should be compatible with iPhone 11 and iPhone 12 models that support the technology if it ends up in Tesla vehicles.
Apple iPhone 11 and iPhone 12 devices have a U1 chip that supports Ultra Wideband technology for better spatial perception and indoor location detection. Apple has likened the Ultra Wideband to “living room-scale GPS” and it is designed for precise proximity tracking.
Right now, Apple uses the U1 chip for directional AirDrop function and to interact with the U1-equipped HomePod mini to transmit songs, but that doesn’t do much else. In the future, Apple is expected to use the U1 chip for AirTags, and it also has applications like integration with vehicles.
There is no explicit word that Tesla’s Ultra Wideband implementation will work with the iPhone, but Tesla already has an iPhone app that allows Tesla owners to lock and unlock their cars, among other features. According to the FCC document, Tesla’s Ultra Wideband feature will more accurately determine the distance between a person and their car for unlocking and activation purposes, and Tesla describes it as safer.
Future Tesla vehicles will include multiple Ultra Wideband endpoints in the vehicle for proper triangulation of location and to determine whether a person is inside or outside the car, and these will likely be able to s ‘interfacing with Apple iPhones.
Other automakers are also working on Ultra Wideband technology that will work with the iPhone 11 and iPhone 12 models. In January, BMW said it was working on Digital Key Plus, a new Ultra Wideband version of the Apple Car Keys feature designed to allow drivers to unlock and start their vehicles without removing their iPhone from their pocket or bag.
BMW’s Ultra Wideband technology will be incorporated into the iX electric vehicle slated to launch in Europe at the end of 2021 and in North America at the start of 2022.
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