4 ms·

I have a physical key which I physically put in a hole in the steering column. This means I know exactly where it is when I come to parking the car, and you nee

by ta1243 2y ago

I have a physical key which I physically put in a hole in the steering column. This means I know exactly where it is when I come to parking the car, and you need to physically have it in contact to drive the car away. I don't get the appeal of keyless ignition.

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
marxisttemp 2y ago
People with bulky keychains often just throw them in their bag or purse and it can be annoying to fish them out. I personally put a very high value on having a minimal keychain and wallet since I rarely carry a bag with me. The goal is to someday live in a state with Apple Wallet drivers’ license support, in a house with NFC smart locks, driving a car with Apple Car Key, at which point I could finally completely jettison my keys and my MagSafe wallet. I don’t want to carry physical keys when I’m already constantly carrying a device with a Secure Enclave and biometrics.
- brk 2y ago
  Not sure why you're being downvoted, I'm exactly the same. House locks are already electronic/automated, haven't carried a physical house key in year. Cars use fobs, for newer vehicles there is no option for physical keys anyway. When I leave the house I take my phone, plus the solo fob for whatever vehicle I am driving. I have no desire to have a ring of multiple physical keys and fobs with me.
  - cholantesh 2y ago
    Because it's a wild rube goldberg solution to a minor inconvenience.
    - marxisttemp 2y ago
      What is Rube Goldberg about storing passkeys on a phone? Would you not call a physical lock system based on notches cut into metal a Rube Goldberg machine?
  - marxisttemp 2y ago
    The downvotes are likely due to me obviously being an Apple cultist ;)
- blacksmith_tb 2y ago
  A beautiful aspiration, until you lose or break your phone...
  - vel0city 2y ago
    People lose wallets. People lose car keys. My PaaK car has a backup passphrase to start it. I can be used in a pinch if my phone isn't working. I can't say the same if I lose my car key. If I go on a long trip I'm likely to bring multiple car keys and multiple payment methods. This is still true if I'm doing PaaK.
    - cholantesh 2y ago
      And people don't lose phones?
      - vel0city 2y ago
        > My PaaK car has a backup passphrase to start it Cars that need a physical cut key to go into a cylinder don't usually have backup passphrases.
        ethagnawl 2y ago
        No, but you can ziptie spares of said keys to an inconspicuous location on the vehicle -- just the valet key or the door key, depending on your tolerance for risk and whether or not the car came with them. (Credit to DeviantOllam for the idea.)
        vel0city 2y ago
        Cars should have pin pads to unlock them. They're so useful on my Fords.
    - blacksmith_tb 2y ago
      They do, and obviously it's a huge headache. But now we can imagine a bright future where you can lose both, and your normal way to try and get help, all at once!
2rsf 2y ago
This is as easy to break and and susceptible to theft as keyless, so what's the benefit?
kenjackson 2y ago
I’m honestly very surprised that you don’t see the appeal. Are there other things people view as conveniences that you don’t see the appeal of? E.g., keyless entry or remote lock?
- cholantesh 2y ago
  Do they really, though? I don't know anyone who raves about how much more convenient button start is, they either dislike/distrust it or don't really care either way.
  - vel0city 2y ago
    I absolutely rave about it. Every time I get a rental car that needs a cut key in an ignition cylinder it's a massive pain. I wouldn't buy a car that doesn't have push button ignition and would prefer for all cars I buy going forward to have phone as a key as an option. For my personal cars I either use phone as a key or I'll keep the key fob in my bag. So I just walk up to the car, the car either auto unlocks or I press the button on the door, I get in, I press the button, and I go. When I'm done I just grab my bag and walk away and the car will auto-lock or I just press the door button. So smooth, I never need to really handle the key at all. It just stays in its specific pocket in my bag or it's just my phone in my pocket. With a cut key, I walk up to the car. I need to fish around in my bag to grab the key. I then need to stick the key in the door and turn it, using care to not scratch the paint. I get in the car, need to insert the key, turn it and hold it long enough for it to start. When I'm done driving, I take the key out, grab my bag, and get out of the car. I then need to once again insert my key into the door once again being careful to not scratch anything, turn it to lock. Then I need to put the key away again. And then phone as a key is incredibly nice, definitely my preferred way. I can easily leave the house for most errands with nothing but my phone on me. It's my car key, my payment method, my transit pass, my paperback novel, my portable music player, my camera, my maps, my communicator, all in one tiny package. Incredibly freeing compared to having to carry a bunch of junk in my pockets just to get groceries or whatever.
    - graemep 2y ago
dzhiurgis 2y ago
My phone has a card, opens my car and my garage door. Haven’t had a trouble for years. Saved me hours from looking for each of those items separately.
hermitcrab 2y ago
I had a car that unlocked as soon as you walked near with the fob. I hated this feature, because you were never sure if the car (with your expensive laptop in the boot/trunk) was actually locked. I ended up giving the key to a family member and getting them to walk a distance away, so I could try the door handle and check it was actually locked.
- RunningDroid 2y ago
  My family have both a Chrysler and a Subaru that try to do this, but they can't always keep up. (Sometimes I walk too fast and pull on the handle before it unlocks the door.)
- sokoloff 2y ago
  More modern cars will auto-fold the mirrors when locked, so you have a visual indication from far away whether or not it’s locked.
  - hermitcrab 2y ago
    That's not enough for me! I want to try the door.
somerandomqaguy 2y ago
Trying to dig your keys out of your pockets when it's extremely cold and having mittens on is not fun. Double the fun if it's night time, because the sun sets at 4:30 on those kinds of days. Also it not being possible to lock yourself out of your car is neat. It's not a must have but it's really nice. Source: Canada
josephcsible 2y ago
> you need to physically have it in contact to drive the car away. No you don't. Remember when Kia Boyz trended on TikTok, where cars with physical keys were so easy to steal that people were doing it just for clout, but ones with fancier keyless ignitions were safe?

by ta1243 2y ago

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

marxisttemp 2y ago

People with bulky keychains often just throw them in their bag or purse and it can be annoying to fish them out. I personally put a very high value on having a minimal keychain and wallet since I rarely carry a bag with me. The goal is to someday live in a state with Apple Wallet drivers’ license support, in a house with NFC smart locks, driving a car with Apple Car Key, at which point I could finally completely jettison my keys and my MagSafe wallet. I don’t want to carry physical keys when I’m already constantly carrying a device with a Secure Enclave and biometrics.

brk 2y ago
Not sure why you're being downvoted, I'm exactly the same. House locks are already electronic/automated, haven't carried a physical house key in year. Cars use fobs, for newer vehicles there is no option for physical keys anyway. When I leave the house I take my phone, plus the solo fob for whatever vehicle I am driving. I have no desire to have a ring of multiple physical keys and fobs with me.
- cholantesh 2y ago
  Because it's a wild rube goldberg solution to a minor inconvenience.
  - marxisttemp 2y ago
    What is Rube Goldberg about storing passkeys on a phone? Would you not call a physical lock system based on notches cut into metal a Rube Goldberg machine?
- marxisttemp 2y ago
  The downvotes are likely due to me obviously being an Apple cultist ;)
blacksmith_tb 2y ago
A beautiful aspiration, until you lose or break your phone...
- vel0city 2y ago
  People lose wallets. People lose car keys. My PaaK car has a backup passphrase to start it. I can be used in a pinch if my phone isn't working. I can't say the same if I lose my car key. If I go on a long trip I'm likely to bring multiple car keys and multiple payment methods. This is still true if I'm doing PaaK.
  - cholantesh 2y ago
    And people don't lose phones?
    - vel0city 2y ago
      > My PaaK car has a backup passphrase to start it Cars that need a physical cut key to go into a cylinder don't usually have backup passphrases.
      - ethagnawl 2y ago
        No, but you can ziptie spares of said keys to an inconspicuous location on the vehicle -- just the valet key or the door key, depending on your tolerance for risk and whether or not the car came with them. (Credit to DeviantOllam for the idea.)
        vel0city 2y ago
        Cars should have pin pads to unlock them. They're so useful on my Fords.
  - blacksmith_tb 2y ago
    They do, and obviously it's a huge headache. But now we can imagine a bright future where you can lose both, and your normal way to try and get help, all at once!

2rsf 2y ago

This is as easy to break and and susceptible to theft as keyless, so what's the benefit?

kenjackson 2y ago

I’m honestly very surprised that you don’t see the appeal. Are there other things people view as conveniences that you don’t see the appeal of? E.g., keyless entry or remote lock?

cholantesh 2y ago
Do they really, though? I don't know anyone who raves about how much more convenient button start is, they either dislike/distrust it or don't really care either way.
- vel0city 2y ago
  I absolutely rave about it. Every time I get a rental car that needs a cut key in an ignition cylinder it's a massive pain. I wouldn't buy a car that doesn't have push button ignition and would prefer for all cars I buy going forward to have phone as a key as an option. For my personal cars I either use phone as a key or I'll keep the key fob in my bag. So I just walk up to the car, the car either auto unlocks or I press the button on the door, I get in, I press the button, and I go. When I'm done I just grab my bag and walk away and the car will auto-lock or I just press the door button. So smooth, I never need to really handle the key at all. It just stays in its specific pocket in my bag or it's just my phone in my pocket. With a cut key, I walk up to the car. I need to fish around in my bag to grab the key. I then need to stick the key in the door and turn it, using care to not scratch the paint. I get in the car, need to insert the key, turn it and hold it long enough for it to start. When I'm done driving, I take the key out, grab my bag, and get out of the car. I then need to once again insert my key into the door once again being careful to not scratch anything, turn it to lock. Then I need to put the key away again. And then phone as a key is incredibly nice, definitely my preferred way. I can easily leave the house for most errands with nothing but my phone on me. It's my car key, my payment method, my transit pass, my paperback novel, my portable music player, my camera, my maps, my communicator, all in one tiny package. Incredibly freeing compared to having to carry a bunch of junk in my pockets just to get groceries or whatever.
  - graemep 2y ago

dzhiurgis 2y ago

My phone has a card, opens my car and my garage door. Haven’t had a trouble for years. Saved me hours from looking for each of those items separately.

hermitcrab 2y ago

I had a car that unlocked as soon as you walked near with the fob. I hated this feature, because you were never sure if the car (with your expensive laptop in the boot/trunk) was actually locked. I ended up giving the key to a family member and getting them to walk a distance away, so I could try the door handle and check it was actually locked.

RunningDroid 2y ago
My family have both a Chrysler and a Subaru that try to do this, but they can't always keep up. (Sometimes I walk too fast and pull on the handle before it unlocks the door.)
sokoloff 2y ago
More modern cars will auto-fold the mirrors when locked, so you have a visual indication from far away whether or not it’s locked.
- hermitcrab 2y ago
  That's not enough for me! I want to try the door.

somerandomqaguy 2y ago

Trying to dig your keys out of your pockets when it's extremely cold and having mittens on is not fun. Double the fun if it's night time, because the sun sets at 4:30 on those kinds of days. Also it not being possible to lock yourself out of your car is neat. It's not a must have but it's really nice. Source: Canada

josephcsible 2y ago

> you need to physically have it in contact to drive the car away. No you don't. Remember when Kia Boyz trended on TikTok, where cars with physical keys were so easy to steal that people were doing it just for clout, but ones with fancier keyless ignitions were safe?