For the new Polestar 2 electric car, the brand has pushed out a new digital key system with the drivers’ smartphones being used for authentication. The new car software is also being updated and it will allow users to remotely precondition the car’s cabin by using the app itself. The app is still the same one used for the original Polestar EV but they’re adding new things for the new car, including the app itself as a key for the electric fastback.
For Polestar 2 owners, all you have to do is walk up to the car and it will unlock. Walk up to the trunk and it will also open. And if you walk to the charging door, it will also be unlocked. That’s the basic expectation when it comes to the digital key system for the electric vehicle. Of course, the digital version of the key that’s in the EV app is encrypted and it uses an encrypted Bluetooth connection with the car.
The Polestar 2 has 18 Bluetooth sensors around it and so when you get within arm’s length of the vehicle, it is able to triangulate where you are in relation to the doors, trunk, or charging door. So this means you don’t need to tap the phone or hold it near to be able to open whatever part of the car you need to open. But to start the car up, the connected smartphone needs to be inside the cabin. The car uses a pressure sensor in the driver’s seat to start powering up the car.
The updated Polestar app also now lets you check the battery status of your EV, control the cabin HVAC so you can cool or heat it remotely in preparation for your drive, and remotely lock your car as well. There will be more added features soon as per Polestar but for now, that’s what you can do. The in-car infotainment system can now show distance-to-empty for the battery and the wireless phone charging behavior has also been improved.
The firmware update for the Polestar app also has the usual bug fixes and improvements. The OTA update has started rolling out to Polestar 2 EVs and you need the latest version installed in your smartphone of course for all the new things to work.