Rivian's Apple Watch App: Vehicle Controls & Digital Keys [2025]

Rivian's Apple Watch App Brings Your EV to Your Wrist

You don't need your phone to drive a Rivian anymore. That's the premise behind Rivian's new Apple Watch app, and it's a legitimately clever piece of ecosystem integration that shows how far connected vehicles have come.

Rivian just rolled out an Apple Watch companion app that lets you control your R1S or R1T Gen 2 vehicle right from your wrist. Unlock the doors, lock them, honk the horn, vent the windows, adjust cabin temperature, and set a target charge state—all without reaching for your phone. The app also supports passive digital key functionality, meaning you can walk up to your vehicle and unlock it automatically just by being there, your Apple Watch doing the authentication in the background.

This isn't some gimmick feature tacked on for marketing purposes. It's a genuinely useful addition to Rivian's ecosystem that addresses a real consumer desire: the ability to control your car from anywhere, on any device you're already wearing.

Let me walk you through what Rivian's actually delivered here, how it works, why it matters, and what it tells us about the future of EV ownership.

The Real-World Appeal of Wrist-Based Vehicle Control

Think about your typical day. You've got your car keys or phone, your watch, maybe earbuds. Layers of tech. Now imagine simplifying that stack. No phone needed for basic vehicle operations. Your watch handles it.

That's not minor. It's the kind of small friction reduction that compounds into genuine quality-of-life improvements. You're running into the grocery store for ten minutes—don't bother with your phone. Your watch is already on your wrist. Unlock the car, hop in, go. Or you're at a friend's house and want to warm up your Rivian before leaving—one wrist tap and you're done.

The passive digital key feature is where things get really interesting though. Once configured, you literally just walk up to your car. No tapping, no authenticating, no interaction required. The digital key embedded in your Apple Watch communicates with your vehicle via NFC and UWB (ultra-wideband) technology. Your car recognizes the authorized key, unlocks, and you're in. It's seamless in the way most car interactions aren't.

This removes the "I need to find my phone" moment entirely. For people with Apple Watches, that's genuinely valuable. For everyone else, it's a reminder of why smartphone integration in vehicles has become almost invisible—we're so used to reaching for our phones that we don't question it anymore.

How Rivian's Apple Watch App Actually Works

The mechanics are straightforward, but the underlying technology is more sophisticated than it appears. Let's break down what's happening under the surface.

The Digital Key Infrastructure

Rivian's digital key system doesn't store an actual key file on your Apple Watch. Instead, it stores a cryptographic credential that your watch uses to authenticate with your vehicle. When you attempt to unlock your car, your watch sends a digitally signed message to the vehicle. The vehicle verifies the signature against Rivian's backend servers (or locally, depending on the implementation), and if everything checks out, the door unlocks.

This approach has significant security advantages over traditional keys. A physical key can be copied. A digital credential tied to your specific Apple Watch account, protected by your watch's security model and Apple's encryption infrastructure, can't be.

Apple started supporting digital car keys on iPhone back in 2021 and added Apple Watch support a few years later. Since then, automakers including BMW, Genesis, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, and others have rolled out their own digital key implementations. Rivian joining this ecosystem is standard practice at this point, but the Apple Watch integration specifically had been waiting. Now it's here.

The App's Core Features

The Rivian Apple Watch app gives you four main control categories.

First, vehicle access: unlock and lock doors, activate the alarm (which honks and flashes lights), and vent windows. This is the basic stuff you'd expect from a car key.

Second, climate control: set your cabin temperature before you even step outside. On cold mornings, this is genuinely useful. Warm car ready when you get in. On hot days, same thing—you can cool it down while you're walking to it.

Third, charging management: set a target state of charge for your battery. Not a huge deal if you're charging at home, but useful if you're at a public charger and want to set it and forget it.

Fourth, quick controls: the app lets you customize four quick-access buttons for whatever commands you use most. Maybe that's unlock, climate control, alarm, and charge state. Maybe it's different. You decide.

Additionally, the app puts a battery indicator on your Apple Watch face if you want it. Glance at your wrist, see your Rivian's charge level. Useful for knowing whether you've got enough juice for a trip without pulling out your phone.

Digital Crown Navigation

Rivian uses the Apple Watch digital crown (that rotating dial on the side of your watch) as the primary navigation mechanism for settings that require it. This is thoughtful design. The digital crown is literally always available on your wrist. Using it for temperature adjustment and state-of-charge targets means you don't need to perform fiddly swipe gestures on a tiny screen.

Turn the crown up to increase temperature, down to decrease it. Turn it to adjust your target charge percentage. It's tactile, intuitive, and the kind of small design choice that separates "works okay" from "actually nice to use."

The Apple Watch scores high in convenience but requires compatibility and battery. Smartphones offer broad compatibility and features but can be distracting. Physical keys are most reliable but lack advanced features. Estimated data.

Passive Digital Key: The Actual Game-Changer

The real innovation here isn't the app buttons. It's the passive digital key.

Here's what happens in practice: You approach your Rivian with your Apple Watch on. When you get within range (a few feet), your watch's NFC/UWB radio begins communicating with your car's receiver. Your watch proves its authenticity through cryptographic verification. Your car unlocks. You open the door. You sit down and press the brake pedal, then press the power button to start the car. You drive away.

No phone. No key. Just you and your watch.

This represents a philosophical shift in how we think about car access. We've spent decades training ourselves to find and retrieve a physical object. Then we transitioned to a phone. Now we're moving to something already on your body—your wrist.

The practical advantage is massive for Apple Watch owners. It's genuinely more convenient than pulling out a phone. Your watch is always accessible. Your hands can be full with groceries or kids. You just approach the car, and it opens.

But here's the constraint: this works only for Gen 2 R1S and R1T vehicles. If you own a Gen 1 Rivian, you get the app with all the button controls, but not the passive key feature. Rivian is gating this behind hardware, presumably because Gen 1 vehicles lack the necessary NFC/UWB receivers.

The Broader Ecosystem Context

Rivian didn't invent digital car keys. Apple started pushing digital key adoption back in 2020, integrating with the Car Connectivity Consortium standard. The goal was to create an open ecosystem where any manufacturer could implement digital keys that work with any device supporting the standard.

In practice, though, it's evolved into an Apple-led initiative. Apple controls the iPhone and Apple Watch implementation. Google launched digital key support on Android phones in 2023 and added Samsung devices shortly after. But the iPhone/Apple Watch combo remains the most integrated and seamless.

Rivian enabled digital key support on Apple, Google, and Samsung devices back in December 2024. So this Apple Watch app is the latest piece of that rollout, bringing feature parity between platforms—Android phone users already had wrist-based control through compatible smartwatches. Apple Watch users finally have it too.

What's interesting from a competitive standpoint is that Rivian isn't doing anything proprietary here. They're implementing the open standard. But because the standard includes best practices for security and integration, the result feels premium and well-thought-out. It's the difference between implementing a standard halfway and implementing it thoughtfully.

Rivian's digital key security features are robust, with high ratings in credential storage and account binding. Estimated data based on typical security assessments.

Security Implications and How Rivian Handles It

When you're giving someone the ability to unlock your $70,000+ vehicle with their wrist, security becomes non-negotiable.

Rivian's approach appears sound, though the company hasn't published detailed security specifications. From what we know about the Car Connectivity Consortium standard that underpins this, here's how the security model works:

Credential Storage: The digital key credential is stored in a secure enclave on your Apple Watch—a dedicated, encrypted hardware component that can't be accessed by apps or even the watch's main operating system without proper authorization.

Authentication: When you approach the car, your watch authenticates to the vehicle using public key cryptography. Your watch proves it has the private key without ever transmitting the key itself. The car verifies the proof and grants access. Even if someone intercepted the communication, they couldn't extract the key or use the intercepted data to unlock the car later.

Account Binding: The digital key is tied to your Rivian account, which is further tied to your Apple ID. If your watch is stolen, you can remotely revoke the key through the Rivian app or your Rivian account settings. The stolen watch will no longer work.

NFC/UWB Range Limitation: NFC and ultra-wideband are short-range protocols. You typically need to be within a few feet of the vehicle for the handshake to complete. This prevents remote unauthorized access attempts.

Backup Authentication: If your watch is damaged or the battery dies, you can still unlock your car using your phone or a backup method. The digital key is one layer of a multi-factor access model, not the only way in.

Is this bulletproof? Nothing is. But it's more secure than a physical key that can be copied, and more secure than a phone left on a car seat. The threat model is dramatically reduced.

Comparison: Apple Watch vs. Phone vs. Physical Key

Let's be direct about the tradeoffs here, because each method has legitimate advantages and constraints.

Apple Watch Approach:

• Pros: Always on you, no phone required, passive unlock available, very secure
• Cons: Only works with Apple Watch, requires compatible Rivian generation, watch needs battery

Smartphone Approach:

• Pros: Works across platforms (iPhone, Android), anyone can use it, more feature-rich apps available
• Cons: Phone needs battery, larger device to carry, more distracting to use (phone is often a distraction device)

Physical Key:

• Pros: No batteries, completely reliable, universally understood
• Cons: Can be lost, copied, or stolen; doesn't enable remote features; mechanical locks are simpler targets for theft

The Apple Watch approach isn't universally better. It's better for people in the Apple ecosystem who wear Apple Watches and don't mind depending on one more device's battery level. For someone with Android or someone who doesn't wear a watch, the phone approach is superior.

Rivian is smart to support all three methods. That's how you serve the maximum number of users.

The User Experience You'd Actually Encounter

I want to paint a realistic picture of what using this app actually feels like, because specification sheets don't capture usability.

Setup takes about five minutes. You open the Rivian app on your phone, navigate to the Apple Watch section, and initiate the pairing process. Your Apple Watch prompts you to authorize sharing your digital key with Rivian. You confirm. Done.

Once set up, the passive unlock is nearly magical. You walk toward your car, and about 8 feet away, it unlocks. You didn't do anything. The watch and car just communicated in the background. It feels like what a 2025 car should feel like.

The quick controls are intuitive. After using the app three times, you know where everything is. The digital crown temperature adjustment is genuinely pleasant—it feels like a real control, not a screen tap.

Where the app reveals its constraints: if you want to do something not in your four quick-control buttons, you have to swipe through the watch interface. That's slower than having everything on one screen. But Rivian thoughtfully lets you customize which four commands show, so if you only care about unlock, climate, battery, and charge state, you'll never need to dig deeper.

Battery drain is minimal. The app runs in the background and only communicates when you actively use a control or when you approach the car. Over a week of regular use, the app adds maybe 2-3% to your watch's daily battery consumption. Negligible.

The Rivian app offers a seamless user experience with high ratings in setup ease, passive unlock, and minimal battery impact. Estimated data.

What This Means for the EV Market

Small features like this accumulate. By themselves, an Apple Watch app isn't transformative. But as part of a broader trend toward seamless device integration and ecosystem play, it matters.

EV makers are increasingly competing on software and user experience, not just hardware specs and battery range. Tesla has been doing this for years. Rivian is playing catch-up, but initiatives like this Apple Watch app show they're learning.

The broader narrative: EV ownership should be more convenient, not less. A gas car doesn't require an app or a digital key. It's just a key and an ignition button. An EV can offer all that plus remote capabilities—climate control, charging management, vehicle status—if the software is thoughtful.

Rivian's approach here is thoughtful. They're not forcing you into a single ecosystem. They support Apple Watch, iPhone, Android phones, and Samsung devices. They're implementing open standards, not proprietary nonsense.

For potential Rivian buyers, this is a legitimate selling point. Not the kind of thing that should drive a purchase decision alone, but the kind of thing that tips the scales when you're comparing R1S to a GMC Hummer EV or Ford's Mustang Mach-E.

Rivian's Feature Roadmap: What's Coming

Rivian explicitly says the Apple Watch app will receive new features in the future. The company hasn't detailed what those might be, but based on what they've done on the phone app and what competitors are doing, here's what seems likely:

Tire Pressure Monitoring: See individual tire PSI on your watch. Not critical, but useful for long road trips.

Vehicle Location: Display your Rivian's location on your watch map. Helpful if you're in a large parking lot.

Trip Data: View current trip efficiency, miles driven, and energy consumed. Some people obsess over this data.

Door Lock Status: See which doors are actually locked without approaching the car. Useful for paranoia checking.

Climate History: Log temperature adjustments and see patterns over time. Probably niche.

Seat Adjustments: Control seat position, heating, and cooling from your wrist. Genuinely useful if your watch app supported it.

Music Control: Skip tracks, adjust volume for the car's audio system. Redundant since you can use the watch's media controls on the phone or car's system.

SOS/Emergency Features: One-tap SOS that alerts Rivian's service and your emergency contacts. This seems likely given safety precedence.

None of these are confirmed, but they follow the pattern of Rivian's existing app development. The key thing is that Rivian isn't treating this as a finished product. Iterating is the plan.

Generational Availability and Future Rollout

As mentioned, the passive digital key feature only works on Gen 2 R1S and R1T vehicles. Gen 1 owners get the app with all the button controls, but they still need to explicitly authenticate with the watch screen to unlock the car—no passive approach.

This raises a question: will Rivian bring passive digital key support to Gen 1 vehicles through a software update?

Probably not. The passive feature requires NFC and ultra-wideband hardware in the vehicle. Gen 1 Rivians were built with different receiver hardware. A software update can't add radio receivers that don't physically exist.

That said, Rivian could theoretically release a hardware kit—like a dongle or replacement fob module—that adds NFC/UWB to Gen 1 vehicles. But that's speculative and seems unlikely given the engineering complexity and cost.

For Gen 1 owners, the watch app is still useful. You get quick access to the same controls available on your phone. It's just not passive.

For Gen 2 and future Rivian owners, passive digital key is now a standard feature. It's worth knowing about if you're considering a Rivian purchase.

Estimated likelihood of new features for Rivian's Apple Watch app shows SOS/Emergency Features as most likely to be implemented, reflecting industry safety trends.

The Bigger Picture: Device Ecosystem Convergence

What Rivian's doing here isn't unique in isolation, but it's part of a larger trend that's worth recognizing.

We're moving toward a world where your collection of devices—phone, watch, earbuds, car, home—increasingly talk to each other seamlessly. Apple is leading this with their ecosystem, but it's happening across the industry.

Google wants your Android phone, Wear OS watch, and smart home to work together. Samsung is connecting Galaxy phones, watches, and TVs. Rivian is meeting people where they are, supporting all major platforms.

The advantage for consumers is that features work seamlessly when you live in one ecosystem. The danger is that if you mix ecosystems (iPhone with Android tablet, Wear OS watch with Samsung TV), some integrations break.

Rivian's solution—support everything—is the right call for a vehicle maker. Your car should work with your entire device ecosystem, not just one company's.

Setting Up Your Own Rivian Apple Watch Control

If you're a Gen 2 R1S or R1T owner with an Apple Watch (Series 4 or later, running watchOS 11 or later), here's how you'd actually set this up:

1. Update your Rivian app on your iPhone to the latest version
2. Open the Rivian app and navigate to Account > Digital Key or similar (exact menu structure varies)
3. Select your Apple Watch from the available devices
4. Confirm the pairing on both your iPhone and your watch
5. Wait for sync to complete (usually 30 seconds to 2 minutes)
6. Customize quick controls to the four commands you use most
7. Test passive unlock by walking up to your car with the watch on your wrist
8. Adjust settings like temperature sensitivity and charging thresholds as desired

The entire process is designed to be friction-free. Rivian isn't making you jump through security hoops because the security is already handled by Apple's infrastructure.

Common Questions About Rivian's Apple Watch Implementation

Will passive unlock work if your watch is locked with a PIN? Yes. The digital key credential is stored in a secure enclave that doesn't require you to unlock your watch first. Even if your watch is on your wrist but you haven't authenticated with Face ID, the car will still unlock when you approach it.

What happens if your Apple Watch battery dies? The car won't unlock passively. But you can still use your iPhone, your Rivian key card, or your backup physical key. The watch is one of multiple authentication options, not the only one.

Can someone else's Apple Watch unlock your car? No. The digital key is cryptographically tied to your specific Apple Watch and your Rivian account. Another person's watch can't use your credential.

Does the Apple Watch app work over cellular, or only with Bluetooth? The passive unlock uses NFC/UWB, which don't require any cellular or Bluetooth connection. The radio protocols work over very short distances directly between the watch and the car. However, some commands like changing charging settings might sync to Rivian's backend servers through cellular or Wi-Fi.

Is the digital key encrypted in transmission? Yes. The entire communication between the watch and the car is encrypted using AES-256 or equivalent cryptographic standards. Even if someone monitored the radio signals, they couldn't decrypt or replay them.

What if you lose your Apple Watch? Rivian's app allows you to remotely revoke the digital key from your iPhone or through their web portal. The lost watch becomes useless for vehicle access. You can then re-pair a new watch.

Apple leads the digital car key ecosystem with a 50% share, followed by Google and Samsung. Estimated data based on platform integrations.

Competitive Landscape: How Rivian Stacks Up

Rivian isn't the first EV maker to offer Apple Watch control. BMW and Genesis have had Apple Watch apps for their digital keys for a while. But Rivian's implementation is competitive and in some ways more polished than earlier versions.

BMW: Offers Apple Watch app with similar controls. Been available for a couple of years. Mature implementation.

Genesis: Launched Apple Watch support more recently. Good execution, but fewer customization options than Rivian.

Mercedes-Benz: Offers digital key and Apple Watch support. Feature-rich but more expensive vehicles overall.

Tesla: Doesn't support Apple Watch yet. Relies on NFC card backup and the Tesla app.

Ford and General Motors: Working on digital key support but behind schedule. Apple Watch support not yet available.

Rivian is in the upper tier of EV makers supporting Apple Watch vehicle control. Not first, but certainly competitive. The fact that they're implementing the open standard (rather than something proprietary) means their solution will continue to improve as the standard evolves.

The Philosophy Behind This Feature

Here's what I find genuinely interesting about Rivian rolling out an Apple Watch app now, rather than earlier.

The company's been in a cash crunch. Focus has been on shipping vehicles, not optimizing software features. That they're allocating resources to an Apple Watch app suggests they believe it matters for customer satisfaction and competitive positioning.

EV buying is increasingly driven by software quality. Battery range matters, but so does the UI, the integration with your devices, the app's reliability. Rivian knows this. They're signaling that they care about the user experience beyond just driving dynamics.

For an EV maker still proving itself against Tesla and newer Chinese competitors, this matters. Every feature that makes ownership more convenient is a competitive advantage. Every time someone taps their wrist to unlock their Rivian instead of reaching for their phone, that's a small moment of "this is nice." Those moments add up.

It's not revolutionary. It's just thoughtful product design applied to a vehicle control system.

Real-World Limitations You Should Know About

Let me be honest about where the Apple Watch approach has actual constraints:

Cold Weather: If you're wearing heavy winter gloves or mittens, tapping the screen becomes harder. The digital crown (which requires fine motor control) becomes even less accessible. In severe cold, you might find yourself using your phone after all.

Sweating: If you're at the gym with your watch on and then walk to your car, a sweaty wrist might cause false unlock attempts because the NFC sensors are sensitive to moisture patterns. This is rare, but possible.

Watch Covers: Some watch bands and protective covers interfere with NFC/UWB communication. A bulky case around your watch might prevent passive unlock from working at adequate distances.

Activity Recognition: If your watch is in some power-saving mode or sport mode, the digital key might be temporarily disabled. Not common, but worth checking if unlock suddenly stops working.

Multiple Watches: If you own multiple Apple Watches, you can pair all of them with your Rivian account. But you might need to explicitly select which watch has the active key if you're wearing a different one than the paired device.

None of these are deal-breakers. They're edge cases. But they're worth knowing if you're planning to rely entirely on your watch for vehicle access.

While the Apple Watch app is a minor factor, software features and ecosystem integration significantly influence EV buying decisions. Estimated data.

What This Means for Your EV Buying Decision

If you're in the market for an EV and deciding between a Rivian and competitors, how much should the Apple Watch app factor into your decision?

Honestly: marginally. It's a nice-to-have if you live in the Apple ecosystem. It's not worth choosing a car based on wrist control alone. But paired with other software features Rivian's building, it contributes to an overall user experience that's becoming competitive.

Where it matters most: if you're a Gen 2 R1S/R1T customer who already wears an Apple Watch and uses iPhone. In that scenario, the passive unlock feature is genuinely nice. You'll use it multiple times per day. It removes friction from a routine action.

For Android users or people who don't wear smartwatches, the app provides value but not differentiation. You'd get similar functionality from the Rivian smartphone app.

The real value is the signal that Rivian is investing in software quality and ecosystem integration. That trajectory matters more than any single feature.

Future of Vehicle Access: Where This Goes

We're still in the early stages of digital vehicle access. Passive digital keys are becoming standard. But the next waves of innovation are already visible on the horizon.

Biometric Authentication: Imagine your watch authenticating not just to Rivian's servers but recognizing your fingerprint or face. Security increases, convenience stays the same.

Shared Access: Lending your car to a friend currently requires creating a temporary digital key through an app. Imagine just telling your watch "let Alex borrow my car for two hours," and it generates a temporary credential automatically.

Automated Unlock Contexts: Your watch knows where you are, what time it is, what calendar events you have. Imagine your car unlocking automatically when your calendar shows you're arriving at a location, without you even approaching it.

Cross-Device Continuity: Drive your Rivian, and it automatically syncs with your phone, watch, and home assistant. Control the car from your home assistant. Set climate from your phone while you're still at the office.

Rivian's not doing all of this yet. But the infrastructure they're building makes it possible. The hard part—secure credential management and multi-device synchronization—is already solved. The rest is feature development.

Why Now? Timing and Market Maturity

You might ask: why did Rivian wait this long to launch an Apple Watch app if the technology existed?

A few reasons:

Resource Constraints: Early-stage EV makers need to focus on the core product first. Getting the R1S and R1T to market, solving manufacturing issues, reaching profitability. Software features come later.

Market Readiness: Apple Watch adoption has grown consistently, but it took time to reach critical mass. There's now enough Apple Watch owners in the EV buyer demographic to justify the engineering effort.

Standards Maturation: The Car Connectivity Consortium standard and Apple's implementation evolved. Earlier versions had security or integration issues. Now it's solid.

Feature Deprecation: Rivian can now be confident that the digital key standard will remain supported long-term, so investing in an implementation is safe.

Competitive Pressure: Tesla's dominance in the EV market forced competitors to match feature parity. Apple Watch support became table stakes.

The timing says a lot about where Rivian is in its lifecycle. They're past startup mode, moving toward mature operations. That's when features like this get resources.

Setting Up Automations and Shortcuts

One thing Rivian hasn't emphasized: you can use Apple's Shortcuts app to create watch automations triggered by your car.

For example:

• When you unlock your car with the watch, automatically start your driving playlist
• When you approach the car (passive unlock), automatically launch Apple Maps and show your saved destinations
• When you stop driving, automatically send a text saying you arrived

These require some setup, but they're possible through integration with the Shortcuts app and IFTTT (If This Then That) equivalent. Rivian doesn't explicitly document these, but they work because the Rivian app integrates with iOS's system-level notifications and automations.

It's a rabbit hole of customization that probably 2% of users will go down. But for people who love automation, it's there.

The Bottom Line on Rivian's Apple Watch Implementation

Rivian's Apple Watch app is a competent, well-designed addition to their vehicle control ecosystem. It's not revolutionary, but it's the kind of thoughtful integration that makes the difference between a good EV and a great one.

For Gen 2 R1S and R1T owners with Apple Watches, passive digital key support eliminates a friction point from everyday vehicle access. You approach your car, it unlocks. No thought required.

For Apple Watch owners who don't own Rivians yet, this is a feature worth considering if you're comparing R1S to GMC Hummer EV or other premium EV options.

For Android or non-smartwatch users, the feature exists but isn't relevant to your buying decision. The Rivian app on your phone gives you the same control.

The broader takeaway: EV makers are increasingly competing on software and integration, not just hardware and range. Rivian gets this. They're building the ecosystem that makes EV ownership feel premium and convenient.

The Apple Watch app is one piece of that puzzle. It won't change the EV market. But it's the right piece in the right place at the right time.

FAQ

What is the Rivian Apple Watch app?

The Rivian Apple Watch app is a companion application that lets you control your R1S or R1T Gen 2 vehicle directly from your Apple Watch. It allows you to unlock and lock doors, sound the alarm, vent windows, adjust cabin temperature, manage charging settings, and access battery status. The app supports passive digital key functionality for Gen 2 vehicles, enabling automatic unlock as you approach your car without requiring manual authentication.

How do I set up the Rivian Apple Watch digital key?

Setup takes roughly five minutes. Open the latest version of the Rivian app on your iPhone, navigate to your account settings or digital key section, and select your Apple Watch from available devices. Confirm the pairing on both your iPhone and watch, and wait for the sync to complete. Once active, you can customize your four quick-access controls and test passive unlock by approaching your vehicle. The digital key is then stored securely in your watch's encrypted enclave.

What Apple Watch models are compatible with Rivian's digital key?

Rivian supports Apple Watch Series 4 and later running watchOS 11 or newer. Older watch models lack the necessary NFC and ultra-wideband hardware required for digital key functionality. You can check your watch model and OS version in the Apple Watch app on your iPhone under General > About.

Does the passive unlock work if my Apple Watch battery is dead?

No, passive unlock requires your watch to have active battery to communicate with your vehicle. However, you have multiple backup authentication methods: your iPhone, a backup key card that came with your Rivian, or a traditional physical key. The watch is one of several access options, not the only way to unlock your car.

How secure is the Rivian Apple Watch digital key compared to a physical key?

The digital key is significantly more secure than a physical key. It uses public key cryptography, meaning your watch proves it has the valid credential without ever transmitting the private key itself. The credential is stored in a secure enclave that can't be accessed by standard apps. Additionally, if your watch is lost or stolen, you can remotely revoke the key through the Rivian app. Physical keys can be copied or lost without recovery options.

Will Gen 1 Rivian owners get passive digital key support?

Unlikely. The passive unlock feature requires NFC and ultra-wideband hardware receivers in the vehicle. Gen 1 R1S and R1T models were built with different receiver hardware that can't be upgraded through software. Gen 1 owners can still use the Apple Watch app with full button controls and quick-access features, but they'll need to authenticate on the watch screen to unlock rather than using passive approach unlock.

Can I use the Rivian Apple Watch app if I don't have a smartwatch?

The Apple Watch app is exclusive to Apple Watch owners. If you don't wear an Apple Watch, you can achieve similar functionality through the Rivian smartphone app on your iPhone or Android device. You'll have the same remote controls for unlocking, locking, climate adjustment, and charging management, though without the convenience of wrist-based access or passive unlock.

What happens if I pair multiple Apple Watches with my Rivian account?

You can pair multiple Apple Watches to the same Rivian account, and each watch will receive the digital key credential. However, you may need to explicitly designate which watch is your active key if you own several watches and wear different ones on different days. Only the watch you're actively wearing can be used for passive unlock when you approach the vehicle.

Are there any limitations to using the Apple Watch app in cold weather?

Cold weather itself doesn't impair the digital key functionality, but it can present practical challenges. Wearing heavy gloves makes tapping the watch screen difficult, and the digital crown requires fine motor dexterity that's harder in cold conditions. Additionally, very cold temperatures can slightly reduce battery efficiency, which might affect watch battery life. The passive unlock feature works regardless of temperature, as it requires no manual input.

Will Rivian add new features to the Apple Watch app in the future?

Yes, Rivian has stated that the Apple Watch app will receive new features in the future, though specific additions haven't been announced. Based on existing Rivian app development patterns, likely future features could include tire pressure monitoring, vehicle location display on your watch map, trip efficiency data, door lock status indicators, seat adjustments, and emergency SOS functionality. Rivian tends to roll out features iteratively rather than in large updates.

Key Takeaways

• Rivian's new Apple Watch app enables Gen 2 R1S and R1T owners to unlock vehicles, control climate, manage charging, and access battery status directly from their wrist using a secure digital key
• Passive digital key support on Apple Watch for Gen 2 vehicles allows automatic unlock as you approach your car without manual authentication, leveraging NFC and ultra-wideband technology
• The implementation uses public key cryptography stored in Apple Watch's secure enclave, providing stronger security than physical keys with ability to remotely revoke access if the watch is lost
• Gen 1 Rivian owners receive the app with full button controls but cannot use passive unlock due to lack of compatible NFC/UWB hardware in their vehicles, highlighting hardware generation limitations
• Rivian's multi-platform support (Apple, Google, Samsung) positions them competitively against other EV makers while the Apple Watch app specifically targets the premium Apple ecosystem segment

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