“We’re excited to bring Audi drivers the incredible convenience of Samsung Digital Key, powered by advanced UWB technology and easily accessible through Samsung Wallet,” said Woncheol Chai, EVP and Head of the Digital Wallet Team, Mobile eXperience Business at Samsung Electronics.

With the key users can lock and unlock their vehicles, open the trunk using Remote Keyless Entry (RKE), and then start their vehicles without a physical key. They can also share the Digital Key over the air or with an interface that lets them grant or disable access as needed, the release detailed.

If users lose their device that contains the Digital Key, they can use the Samsung Find service to remotely lock or delete the key, further safeguarding their vehicles.

With biometric or PIN-based user authentication requirements, Samsung Wallet protects the vehicle, ensuring privacy and security with every interaction.

“This collaboration with Audi is helping to advance our vision of effortless, tech-enabled experiences within the Galaxy ecosystem,” Chai said.

Digital Keys are securely embedded within the device, meeting rigorous EAL6+4 security standards to protect against unauthorized access. Using ultra-wideband (UWB) technologies, a standardized communication protocol set by the Car Connectivity Consortium (CCC), the key ensures precise functionality and significantly reduces the risk of unauthorized vehicle access.

Samsung Wallet is a versatile platform that allows Galaxy users to organize Digital Keys, payment methods, identification cards, and more in one secure application.

Launched in June 2022, Samsung Wallet features a seamless interface protected by defense-grade security from Samsung Knox. It integrates with the Galaxy ecosystem, providing powerful connectivity and fortified security for users in their everyday lives.

Availability and Accessibility 

1. Audi vehicles supporting the Digital Key include: the Audi A6 e-tron series, Q6 e-tron series, and Audi A5 series—with more to be included.

2. Samsung Wallet Digital Key support is available on select devices, including Galaxy S20 Ultra/S20+/S20, S21 Ultra/S21+/S21/S21 FE, S22 Ultra/S22+/S22, S23 Ultra/S23+/S23/S23 FE, S24 Ultra/S24+/S24/S24 FE, Note20 Ultra/Note20, Z Fold2, Z Fold3, Z Fold4, Z Fold5, Z Fold6, Z Flip 5G, Z Flip3, Z Flip4, Z Flip5, Z Flip6.

3. Eligible Galaxy smartphones operating on Android 13 and above, qualify to run this digital key.

The post Galaxy Smartphones to Replace Physical Keys for Audi Owners appeared first on PC Tech Magazine.

“We are entering a new era of intelligent vehicles that will see the emergence of new technological synergies between information and communications technology and the automotive industries,” Veni Shone, President of LTE Solution at Huawei said in a press statement.

Veni emphasized that the company is committed to transforming the driving experience – due to the increased innovation in mobile connectivity.

The cooperation between Huawei and Audi is also intended to facilitate the ongoing advancement of intelligent driving and the digitization of services in the vehicle environment.

“We are intensifying our joint research with Huawei in the area of intelligent connected vehicles. Our aim is to improve safety and optimize traffic flows in order to create intelligent cities,” Saad Metz, Executive Vice President of Audi China, explains.

Working in cooperation with Huawei and the Chinese authorities, Audi became the first foreign automobile manufacturer to participate in the first-time deployment of LTE-V – a mobile communication standard, which is specially tailored for connected cars.

In September 2018, the project will enter its next phase at the “World Internet of Things Exposition” in Wuxi with an even broader range of applications.

Before the signing of this MoU, Huawei and Audi have cooperated in many areas related to intelligent connected vehicles in recent years. The two companies initiated the telecom-vehicle cross industry organization 5GAA and have held several joint demos/trials in various countries including Germany, Spain and China, ensuring the vibrant growth of the intelligent connected vehicles industry.[related-posts]

The post Huawei, Audi Sign an MoU To Develop Intelligent Connected Vehicles appeared first on PC Tech Magazine.

The service by mapping firm Here, owned by a group of German car makers, will roll out next year.

The platform will record vehicle speed, location and direction, as well as sharp braking and fog light activation.

Video footage of road hazards will also be captured by a forward-facing camera on the cars.

Other brands will join the service at a later date, the firm said.

Owners of cars which incorporate Here’s Open Location Platform will not have to do anything to transmit or receive data.

Community mapping service Waze, owned by Google, already crowd sources travel data but users must be logged in via their smartphones.

The parking information service will also provide parking availability predictions for each street as well as details about payment options.

“Here believes that industry collaboration is essential to address the major challenges faced by road users everywhere.

“What we are seeing today is the technology and automotive industries coming together to create services that will elevate the driving experience for billions,” said CEO Edzard Overbeek.

Source: BBC News

The post Maps to Help Drivers Find Parking Spaces appeared first on PC Tech Magazine.

The Finnish company was looking to sell HERE to focus on the integration of Alcatel-Lucent, which it acquired for $16.6 billion earlier this year.

The car makers will benefit from HERE’s high-definition real-time digital mapping technology with the ability to further their research on self-driving cars, and integrate connected services into their nect-generation vehicles.

It is estimated that the deal will close in the first half of 2016, with Nokia netting 2.5 billion Euro ($2.74 billion) from the proceeds.

Nokia has revealed that the sale will not affect HERE’s mobile apps, available for Android, iOS and Windows Phone, stating that the presence of mobile navigation services allows car manufacturers to “extend their product and service offerings beyond the car.”

This means Nokia will function as two business entities: Nokia Networks, which provides network and telecom infrastructure, and Nokia Technologies, which will continue to develop technology products such as the recently announced virtual reality camera OZO.

[Via]

The post Nokia has sold its HERE Maps to German carmakers for $3 billion appeared first on PC Tech Magazine.

Further more, the automaker has loaded the car up with a full complement of autonomous vehicle technology — it’s a step toward the “self-driving car” than companies like Google have been working on.

The RS7 will be flying around a race track breakneck speed, and it’s going to do it without the guidance of a driver.

The demonstration event will happen at this weekend’s DTM German Touring Car race at the track and Audi will broadcast the high speed driverless demonstration live this Sunday on Audi Media TV.

Via BI

The post Audi’s New RS7 Can Hit 150 MPH — Without A Driver! appeared first on PC Tech Magazine.

Ron Montoya, the consumer advice editor for Edmunds.com, said that the two companies had worked together before. “They already laid the foundation when they started to put Google Maps in the car,” he said.

Karl Brauer, a senior analyst at Kelley Blue Book, adds that it’s not just Audi’s and Google’s partnership evolving, but the car itself. “Even if you drive a lot, you still probably spend more time with your devices than with your car,” he said. “The closer that they can make a car interface look like a phone interface, the more quickly you’ll learn to use it and the more at ease you’ll be.”

Google Paves the Way to a Robotic Future
The partnership is expected to be announced at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show, held from Jan. 7-10, 2014. Both Google and Audi declined to comment about the report. However, Audi’s head of product strategy, Filip Brabec, told the Wall Street Journal that new vehicles will inevitably need an operating system to meet a customers’ demand for apps.

Apple announced a similar development earlier this year with iOS in the Car, at their WWDC keynote in June. “It makes a number of the functions of the iPhone appear on the car’s screen,” said Montoya. “But it’s still based on the phone, not on the vehicle.”

Audi Car Parks Itself and Picks You Up With a Tap of an App
For Brauer, the Audi deal is a sign of things to come. “The automobile industry usually moves at a snail’s pace compared to the consumer electronics,” he said. “I get the sense Apple, Google, and Microsoft as well, that all three of these companies are scrambling [for partnerships].” He added that if any one company is able to nab both GM and Toyota, its competitors will find it difficult to overcome.

For now, Brauer says that both Apple and Google are taking care not to display so much information at once that a driver ends up getting distracted. “It’s a big balancing act, figuring out how much info do you feed the driver so that it’s useful but not distracting,” he said. But he adds that could all change when autonomous vehicles finally hit the road.

“When you have a car that can handle all the driving, what are you going to do behind the wheel?” said Brauer. “That balancing act will go away, and then you’ll want as fast a connection and as much information in your car as you would your home or smartphone.”

The post Google to Partner With Audi to Put Android in New Cars appeared first on PC Tech Magazine.