smart locks

Smart lock manufacturer UltraLoq released its first deadbolt compatible with Apple home key last week, offering iPhone and Apple Watch users a seamless way to unlock their doors with a simple tap. You can buy the UltraLoq Bolt NFC smart deadbolt lock for $199.99 with discounts.

“Our product strategy is rooted in delivering both convenience and security,” said Raj Sundar, Senior Product Director at Xthings, UltraLoq’s parent company. “With Bolt NFC – Works With Apple home key, we’re not just launching our first lock with Apple home key support, we’re answering the call from Apple Home users who expect a fast, secure, and truly native unlocking experience.”

Apple Wallet-compatible smart lock Alloy Deadbolt+ will make life easier for renters and landlords alike, SmartRent said Wednesday. Debuting at a Starwood Capital Group property, Alloy Deadbolt+ expands on the security, functionality and convenience of smart locks by integrating with resident keys in Apple Wallet. It easily lets you in, as well as your property manager and designated friends and service providers.

“Alloy Deadbolt+ enhances the way we think about secure access, providing a straightforward and reliable solution for both residents and property managers,” SmartRent Chief Technology Officer Isaiah DeRose-Wilson said.

The new lever-based Smart Lock U300 brings Apple Home Key functionality to a wider range of doors you might want to unlock with your iPhone or Apple Watch, including those without traditional deadbolts, Aqara said Thursday. It previewed the lock back at CES in January. Now it’s finally on sale — with a nice launch discount (see below).

The new unveiled Lockly Zeno smart locks are its first ones to work with Apple Home and Home Key for use with iPhone and Apple Watch, the company said Thursday. Lockly Visage, with advanced facial recognition access technology, and Lockly Vision, with an integrated 2K video doorbell with intercom, are the two flagships.

“As technology progresses, so do customer expectations. We’ve made it our mission to always go above and beyond the cutting edge to set a new standard for the smart home industry,” said Frank Polidoro, Lockly CRO. “We are extremely excited to partner up with The Home Depot to bring our latest innovation to homeowners and the professional market.”

Aqara launched a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign Tuesday for its new Smart Lock U200. Built on the Thread networking protocol and native to the Matter standard, the lock will integrate with many smart home devices. But its compatibility with smart-home platforms like HomeKit — and its support for Home Key in particular — will come from future software updates.

Aqara highlighted new HomeKit-enabled smart-home devices at CES 2024 Monday in Las Vegas — the new Hub M3, Border Router Plug and Smart Lock U300 — plus an AI chatbot interface for the Aqara Home App.

The devices support both Matter and Thread networking standards. And the hub may help you control your whole smart home.

Not very many deadbolt smart locks support Apple HomeKit or home key, the handy feature that lets you unlock the door with your iPhone or Apple Watch. But Aqara’s highly capable Smart Lock U100 does, and it offers many other smart features as well. That makes it a top choice for Apple fans everywhere to keep their homes safe and secure.

If you’d like to never carry a physical key and never get locked out again, read on.

The new HomeKit-compatible Yale Assure Lock 2 Plus offers support for Apple’s Home Key as well as fingerprint scanning, according to Yale Home.

The company also says a new version coming soon will support the Matter smart-home standard.

Aqara showcased its new Smart Lock U200, Camera E1, Dual Relay Module T2 and Ceiling Light T1M at IFA 2023 in Berlin, Germany, last week, the company said.

The products support the Matter home automation standard and should go on sale in the coming months, Aqara said.

Aqara released its first deadbolt smart lock Friday, the Smart Lock U100. It’s fully compatible with Apple’s HomeKit and you can open it with Home Key, fingerprints, passwords or — get this — a physical key.

Snark aside (a physical if often provided with smart locks for power outages), the stout new lock integrates with the Matter home automation standard and could become a vital part of HomeKit users’ smart-home arsenals.

Smart-home specialist Aqara said Thursday it will expand its product line in the coming months with a new video doorbell, LED light strips, a sensor with artificial intelligence and a smart door lock that works with Home Key. All of the new devices will work with HomeKit and other smart-home systems.

Rather than showcasing new products at CES 2023 in Las Vegas, however, the company put out a video showing off the four items below as if it were at the show.

Smart locks can give your house an extra layer of security and allow you to control who enters your home. If you’re looking for a top-rated smart door lock, consider the Bosma Aegis. It can turn any existing deadbolt into a smart lock, and it’s on sale for $89.99 (regularly $119).

It’s part of our Thankful Deals promotion, during which we’re releasing early Black Friday price drops on a curated selection of bestselling items, each handpicked for their low price points, high discounts, excellent reviews or rarity. But you’ll have to be quick! The sale ends on November 23 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific, but supplies might run out even before that!

Some Apple Store locations began stocking the exclusive new Level Lock+ last week, letting users open their door locks with their iPhone or Apple Watch via digital keys. And now you can get it online, too.

The functionality takes advantage of the change in iOS 15 last year adding support for home keys in Wallet. It uses NFC radio technology to let an iPhone or Apple Watch near the lock open it.

Part of the value of an iPhone is all the accessories you can tap into, even when you’re miles away from them. The Bosma Aegis, for instance, lets you turn your door lock into a smart lock that you can open with your iPhone.

It’s on sale for $89.99 (regularly $119) during our Deal Days event, running through October 12. During this sale, you’ll find a ton of discounted gadgets, e-learning courses, home goods and more. You can shop them all right now in our Deal Days collection.

Yale, long known for its old-school locks, updated its Assure smart lock series Thursday. In addition to being 30% smaller than the original Assure smart locks, the new Assure Lock 2 models work with HomeKit and Siri voice control.

Users who aren’t ready to to take the plunge into full home-automation system like HomeKit and related accessories have another option to make a dumb lock smarter.

SwitchBot recently launched a new version of SwitchBot Lock. The company said it’s the best way to make a door lock smart without refitting, so users can lock or unlock their door via devices like iPhone or Apple Watch.

Better yet, right now you can get 15% off on Amazon, or about $15 off the $100 price.

Do you ever arrive at work and have that little panicky moment where you’re unsure if you locked the door? Do you go back? Call a neighbor? Hope your autopilot self was responsible today?

Why not just pull out your phone and check to be sure? With the Bosma Aegis, you can control your deadbolt with an app, but that’s not all you can do. For a limited time, the Bosma Aegis Smart Door Lock is only $79.99 (regularly $119) with code SMARTLOCK. If you’re interested, act fast though — this sale only lasts through August 2022.

Aquara launched its third and most-advanced smart lock for HomeKit and Home Key on Thursday, the D100 Zigbee.

Unlike the previously released N100 Zigbee and A100 Zigbee, which are handle locks, the new D100 is an automatic mortise lock that lets users open a door without pushing a handle or turning a knob.

It’s expected to roll out in more countries soon, but for now you can get it in parts of Asia and the Middle East. You can find more information about its distribution below.

Eufy has a new Kickstarter campaign for what it calls “the see-everything smart lock.” It’s the Eufy Video Smart Lock, a 3-in-1 device that works as a fingerprint-detecting lock, a 2K, wide-angle camera and a dual motion-detection doorbell, the company said.

Now that’s a capable gadget. And it has a substantial price to match. See below.

If you have a Level HomeKit-enabled smart lock, now you can add a nifty new Level Keypad. It’s an especially convenient way to let others — family, friends, neighbors, the dog walker — have access to your home. And you can control when they can use it.

In the market for a smart door lock that works with Apple’s HomeKit automation system as well as Home Keys you can keep in the Wallet app? Look no further than the new Aqara Smart Door Lock A100 Zigbee.

It features support for leading home automation protocols and advanced authentication tech, the company said Monday. Trouble is, you can only get it in Malaysia and Singapore so far, with other countries coming soon.

But U.S. availability? As yet unknown.

Apple hired Sam Jadallah in February 2019 to lead its smart home initiatives as head of the Home Services department. Last week, he posted word of his departure on LinkedIn.

Neither Jadallah nor Apple has given a reason for the departure. After two years and nine months on the job, Jadallah wrote:

That’s a wrap with Apple. I’m so grateful for the friendships that will endure and the opportunity to shape and create new capabilities for people and homes around the world. As a corporate exec, investor and entrepreneur, it was a treat to be an entrepreneur within Apple and to create products at scale.

Security is key, whether online or IRL. Thanks to smartlocks, though, secure doors don’t need keys. Install one on your door, and you can enter and exit more securely, using a simple code or even your thumbprint. That’s just what these two smart locks bring to any home or office.

Level Home’s second HomeKit-compatible smart lock lets you use your fingertip as a key. But you won’t even really need that finger tap to open your door. The new lock, called the Level Touch, offers a variety of entry methods — including fully automatic (triggered by your smartphone’s Bluetooth connection when you arrive home).

“With Level Touch, keys are optional,” the company said in a press release Tuesday unveiling the new device. “You can enter and exit in any way that is most convenient for you, with the touch of a finger, using your voice or even an included programmable keycard. All of this while maintaining the highest level of residential security of any smart lock to date.”

A new “invisible” HomeKit-compatible lock means you won’t need to sacrifice fancy door hardware to get smart lock functionality. Level Lock replaces your existing deadbolt’s guts, hiding seamlessly inside your door.

It’s an innovative approach to smart lock design. That’s not too surprising, though, considering Level Home was founded by a couple of ex-Apple employees.