Cupertino, Jun 23 (IANS): Apple iPhone and Watch users will soon be able to securely unlock their cars with digital keys and BMW will support this feature first.

The new feature in iOS 14 is called CarKey which uses the near-field communication (NFC) technology that has been available on Android for a while.

Digital car keys give users a secure way to use iPhone or Apple Watch to unlock and start their car.

Digital car keys can be easily shared using Messages, or disabled through iCloud if a device is lost, and are available starting this year through NFC, Apple announced at its virtual ‘WWDC20' developer conference on Monday.

Apple also unveiled the next generation of digital car keys based on Ultra Wideband technology for spatial awareness delivered through the U1 chip.

It would allow users to unlock future car models without removing their iPhone from their pocket or bag. The feature will become available next year.

BMW will be the first automaker to support Apple CarKey with its 5 Series that goes on sale in July.