Summary
- Cadillac is reportedly integrating Apple Car Key support for select models, with the key stored in the Apple Wallet app
- The feature will allow drivers to lock, unlock, and start the car using an iPhone or Apple Watch via NFC
- The adoption is notable as it occurs while GM moves away from Apple CarPlay in its EVs, signaling a separation of the dashboard interface from the secure credential layer
Apple’s Car Key ecosystem is about to pick up a major new luxury player as backend code reveals that select Cadillac models are being prepared for iPhone and Apple Watch digital key support. The move positions Cadillac squarely inside Apple’s everyday hardware ritual.
The integration lets drivers lock, unlock, and start compatible Cadillacs using an iPhone or Apple Watch through NFC and related wireless tech, with the key stored in the Apple Wallet app. It turns the handset into a core piece of the in-car experience rather than just a dashboard companion. This expansion follows Apple’s WWDC 2025 tease that 13 additional automakers would “soon” join Car Key, with Cadillac sitting alongside Acura, Porsche, GMC, Chevrolet, Rivian, and more. It signals that phone-as-key is shifting from niche luxury flex to mainstream expectation across lineups.
For GM, the Cadillac rollout is especially interesting. The company is moving away from Apple CarPlay in many EVs, yet it is leaning into Apple’s secure credential layer through Car Key. The strategy separates who owns the dashboard interface from who unlocks the doors.
Industry-wide, digital car keys are accelerating as a new standard, with BMW, Genesis, Hyundai, and others already live. Cadillac’s adoption helps reframe the luxury car as an extension of the smartphone ecosystem, tightening the link between premium mobility and premium devices. Exact model coverage and launch timing remain under wraps, with GM still needing to flip the switch on its side. But with Apple’s backend support now in place, Cadillac’s Car Key moment looks less like an “if” and more like a “when.”
