Apple's Car Keys feature appears to be coming to supported vehicles made by Chinese maker Xiaomi Auto, based on code changes discovered by MacRumors in Apple's Wallet app backend.
Code spotted in the third developer beta of iOS 27 back in July revealed that Apple was preparing Car Keys support for Xiaomi, so this latest change suggest support is imminent.
The Chinese electronics maker has expanded into EVs with models like the SU7 sedan and YU7 SUV. Car key support would be one of the company's first tie-ins with Apple's ecosystem, despite Xiaomi being a major Apple rival in the smartphone market.
Car Keys allows an iPhone or Apple Watch with NFC capabilities to unlock a vehicle through the Wallet app. A digital version of a car key is stored in Wallet, and unlocking can be done simply by holding an Apple Watch or ‌iPhone‌ near a compatible vehicle's NFC reader.
What can be done with Car Keys may vary by car manufacturer, but at a minimum, Car Keys can be used to unlock your car, lock your car, and start your car, which are the features available with a physical key.
Apple introduced Car Keys in 2022, and car manufacturers like BMW, Rivian, Kia, and Hyundai have all implemented support for Car Keys. Apple maintains a full list of vehicles that support Car Keys on its CarPlay model availability webpage.
