You can now use your Android phone as car key

Starting today, you can use your Android phone to lock, unlock and even start your compatible BMW cars. Digital car key is now available on Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, and Samsung Galaxy S21 in select countries.

Google has announced a bunch of new Android features that make it a joy to create, capture, relive, and share holiday memories. With this update, you can now use your Android smartphone as a car key and also reply to messages in the car with a tap.

Starting today, you can use your Android phone to lock, unlock and even start your compatible BMW cars. Digital car key is now available on Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, and Samsung Galaxy S21 in select countries.

Secondly, when you connect your Android phone to your compatible car, Android Auto will launch automatically. Using smart reply options, you will soon be able to respond to a text message more easily with the Google Assistant on Android Auto, simply tap to respond or create a custom message.

Additionally, using the new always-on play button, right on the Home screen, you can listen to your favorite music with a single tap. Coming soon, you’ll be able to use your voice to search for music faster in your media apps on Android Auto.

Next up, the new 'Family Bell' feature helps you and your family stay on track with your daily schedules by notifying when it's time for important moments throughout the day. Family members can set, edit, manage and customize bells on their own devices - Android phone, home speaker or smart display.

This holiday season, three Google apps are getting new widgets that make it easier to view the content and information on your Home screen. The three new widgets include:

• Google Play Books
• YouTube Music
• Google Photos People & Pets

Further, Google is rolling out new Memories in Photos that appear in your photo grid. The new Memories feature a curated selection of photos and videos from holidays like New Year's Eve or Halloween, to important milestones like birthdays and graduations.

Lastly, permissions auto-reset is expanding support to billions more devices with Google Play services that run Android 6.0 or higher. This feature automatically turns off runtime permissions which allow apps to access data or take actions on your behalf for downloaded apps you haven't used in a while.