Owners of eligible Cadillac electric vehicles in the United States and Canada can now leave their phones in a pocket when opening the car, provided their Galaxy device supports the necessary wireless technology. Samsung Wallet has added General Motors digital keys, bringing automatic entry, starting and key sharing to a limited first group of vehicles.
Samsung Electronics America announced the addition on October 6. The initial eligibility list names the 2025–2027 Cadillac LYRIQ, 2026–2027 OPTIQ and 2027 VISTIQ. Those model years are important: this is not support for every Cadillac or every vehicle carrying a GM badge.
The feature extends Samsung Wallet beyond payments and identification into a task where compatibility has to work at both ends. Once the key is properly enabled, Ultra-Wideband, or UWB, and Bluetooth Low Energy allow the car to unlock as the owner approaches and lock again when they walk away. Samsung says owners can also lock, unlock and start eligible vehicles through the digital-key arrangement.
Woncheol Chai, Samsung’s executive vice president and head of its Digital Wallet Team, said, “Now, with Digital Key support for select GM vehicles, many Galaxy users in the U.S. and Canada can enjoy the benefits of a connected experience with the device they already have in their pocket.” The convenience claim comes with a hardware qualification: owning a Galaxy phone does not by itself establish eligibility.
Samsung’s UWB list includes the Galaxy Note20 Ultra; Plus and Ultra models across the S21 through S26 generations; the S25 Edge; and specified Z Fold models, including Z Fold2 through Z Fold8, Z Fold8 Ultra and Z TriFold. The company does not list base S-series models or the Z Flip family in that announcement’s UWB footnote. Buyers should therefore match the exact phone model, not just the Galaxy brand or release year.
General Motors describes the vehicle rollout as phased, with eligible Cadillac customers receiving access through September and October. Owners will see a notification in the “What’s New” section of their vehicle’s mobile app when the feature becomes available. Samsung’s announcement does not mean every eligible car was activated simultaneously.
Setup still involves the physical key. GM says the owner first signs into the vehicle’s mobile app, then follows its prompts while inside the OnStar-connected vehicle with the key fob nearby. The app adds the credential to the compatible digital wallet. That enrollment step separates proximity-based digital access from merely installing Samsung Wallet on a handset.
Sharing is another part of the change. Samsung says owners can grant digital-key access, set permissions and withdraw access remotely within Wallet. GM says its system supports sharing with up to seven additional devices. That sits alongside the wider development of digital car-key sharing, but the announcement does not establish identical permissions across every wallet and device combination.
Samsung says credentials are held in an embedded Secure Element and protected by Samsung Knox, with its digital keys meeting EAL6+ certification standards. If a Galaxy device is lost or stolen, Samsung Find can suspend or delete the key remotely from a computer. GM separately says an owner can contact OnStar to deactivate a lost device’s digital key. These are the companies’ stated safeguards, not a guarantee that a phone-based key eliminates every security risk.
The same proximity technology is spreading beyond cars into UWB smart locks. GM says its vehicle implementation follows the Car Connectivity Consortium standard and is designed for compatible Apple Wallet and Google Wallet devices as well as Samsung Wallet. The Samsung expansion is therefore part of GM’s broader digital-key program, not a Samsung-exclusive vehicle feature.
The next stage is planned for December. GM lists the 2026–2027 Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban, 2026–2027 GMC Yukon and Yukon XL, and 2027 Escalade, Escalade IQ/IQL and CELESTIQ among the vehicles scheduled for expansion. Those are future rollout plans, not additions already confirmed active in Samsung Wallet today. For owners, the deciding evidence remains the exact vehicle, the compatible phone and the availability notification in the vehicle app.
