Samsung Wallet Can Now Unlock the Volkswagen ID. ERA 9X

Samsung Wallet can now unlock the Volkswagen ID. ERA 9X. No app, no fumbling — just walk up and the car recognizes your phone.

The feature arrived Wednesday for SAIC Volkswagen’s latest all-electric flagship. Samsung’s digital car key supports hands-free door locking, unlocking, and ignition through the Wallet app, the company announced on its official WeChat account.

The setup is straightforward. You need Samsung Wallet 5.5.77 or newer and the SAIC Volkswagen app 5.0.4 or newer. Link your vehicle in the VW app, then add the digital key to Samsung Wallet. Turn on hands-free unlock authorization, and the car detects your phone via Bluetooth as you approach. No need to open the carmaker’s app, no background process to keep alive.

Samsung has been quietly expanding its digital key ecosystem. In July 2024, the company added support for NIO and Li Auto vehicles on the Galaxy S24 series. A year before that, Samsung partnered with BMW on NFC and UWB-based digital keys in Brazil.

The broader phone-as-key race includes vivo, OPPO, and Apple. vivo’s digital key supports Li Auto’s entire lineup and previous integrations with BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Tesla, and XPeng. Apple Wallet added digital car keys in 2022, with BMW, Rivian, Kia, and Hyundai as early adopters.

What makes the Volkswagen partnership stand out is volume. SAIC Volkswagen is one of China’s largest automotive joint ventures, and the ID. ERA 9X is its big-bet EV flagship. Putting Samsung Wallet into that many cars shifts digital key technology from a niche convenience toward something drivers simply expect.