The ThorBolt M1 is the basic model, that features a built-in keypad, whilst the MD1 has the same design, but integrates a fingerprint sensor on the top of the handle. The forthcoming MK1, has both the built-in keypad and fingerprint sensor, but also uses HomeKit over Thread, for compatibility with Apple Home. It does not use Matter over Thread, so this will only be of use to Apple Home users.

Visually, the only difference between the two models with the fingerprint sensor, is the rounded square design of the backplate for MK1, with the MD1 opting for a circular backplate.

The MK1 uses four AA batteries, stored within the inner handle, with the company claiming a battery life of up to 12 months, based on average usage. The body is made of a combination of aluminium and zinc alloys, with a rubber, backlit keypad. The outer portion of the lock is splash and water resistant.

Almost all options can be accessed via the keypad itself, including adding or removing users, changing passcodes, or setting up features like ‘Passage mode‘ that allows the lock to stay unlocked. Auto lock is set to on by default.

As the MK1 is Apple Home compatible, you can access the lock from your Apple Watch/iPhone, or remotely control it when you’re not at home (as long as you have a suitable Apple Home Hub), but it also offers the ‘Manage Access‘ feature in Apple Home, that allows you to create and manage passcodes and their users, directly within the Home app.

There’s no word on pricing yet, but considering the prices for the M1 and MD1 are pretty keenly set, we expect the MK1 to be the same, when it’s due to go on sale towards the end of August.

The post ThorBolt Announce Thread Latch Lock w/ Fingerprint Sensor appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

The Holo is designed to work with North American style deadbolts, and like some locks before it, including the now ageing August range, and the forthcoming Aqara U200, this is a semi retrofit device. Whilst you don’t need to change your lock or the deadbolt for this to work, you do need to remove the existing lock’s thumb turn, and replace it with the Holo. Even though the Holo uses Matter over WiFi, the company claim the lock’s batteries (4 x AA) can last up to eight months in ‘low power’ mode, with standard WiFi mode averaging 4-6 months before a new set of batteries are required. Additionally, the lock doesn’t require a bridge, so it connects directly to your WiFi network for remote access, and Bluetooth for direct connectivity between the lock and your phone. The Holo also has auto lock functionality as part of its system.

Due to the retrofit nature of the lock, it does also mean that you get to keep your original keys, and the outside portion of the lock doesn’t give the game away as to your lock being smart at all, unless you also opt for the Anona Keypad, which is currently only offered in the one finish – Obsidian Grey. As the keypad is the only part of the lock kit that is used outside, it does come with an IP65 waterproof rating, with screws or stickers to hold the device in place. The keypad has illuminated buttons, and features both lock and unlock buttons in addition to the standard numerical keys.

The keypad also features the generally standard ‘anti-peeping’ feature that allows you to add random digits before and after your actual 6-digit passcode (up to 50), to baffle ‘nosey parkers’. As with other keypad-based locks, you also get options to set permanent or temporary access, via the company’s own app. You can also lock potential chancers out with ‘wrong password protection’ that secures the lock against any unwanted access for a custom period, whilst also notifying you via the app of suspicious access attempts.

The keypad connects to the lock using the latest version of bluetooth – v5.3 – with the keypad running on three provided AA batteries, and comes complete with screws, rawl plugs, and a wall bracket.

Of course, the inevitable question of Apple HomeKey has to be broached, and at the time of writing, there seems to be no mention of this, which whilst unfortunate, does mean the lock has a keenly priced preorder offer of just US$89.99 for the lock and keypad, so you essentially get the keypad free, with the the keypad selling for an additional US$39.99 once preorders close. You can check out the company’s website for more information.

The post Anona Debuts Smart WiFi Lock With Matter appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

The Smart Lock Matter Tilt/Turn by Danish manufacturer SecuYou aims to provide not only a smart lock for patio doors and windows, but offer the latest in smart home innovation too, with typical Scandinavian design thrown in for good measure.

From a quick look at the company’s website there isn’t a large amount of information regarding these locks, other than it’s designed for doors that open inward or outward, with the lock itself situated on the inside, running on two AAA batteries. The bulk of the lock is made from a metal alloy, which contains the inner mechanics for the lock, as well as adaptor pins. there is no keypad on the device as such with the black portion of the body home to the battery compartment, so control is achieved via your phone (using Bluetooth). The company has stated they plan to introduce a separate keypad in Q4 of 2024.

The lock can be purchased with both the inner and outer halves of the lock, but if customers prefer to keep their existing outer handle mechanism, they can just purchase the inner portion.

Due this being a Matter over Thread device, it’ll connect to a Thread Border Router as well, which in turn allows the lock to be controlled directly within the Apple Home app, for example. This model doesn’t work with the company’s own app.

Despite the product being in a category of its own, the price is still relatively reasonable, at just under 1700,00 Dkr / €231,00 / UK£197.00. You can find more information on this and other products in the company’s range via their website.

The post First Matter over Thread Smart Lock For Patio Doors Announced appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

Physically, there’s little to distinguish the U50 from the U100, aside from one specific feature missing, that being the fingerprint sensor. This is where the lower price point has been achieved. Whether that’s an important omission for some is sort of irrelevant, as the U50 is designed to sit alongside the U100, not replace it. So if you want that extra feature, the U100 is the lock for you.

Aside from that, the lock now comes in a much darker shade of grey (or black if you prefer) than the U100, with a finish closer to an option available for the U100 in other regions, which were offered not only in the standard gun metal grey, but also silver or the aforementioned black/dark grey.

As with the U100, the new lock features a keypad for use with passcodes, as well as for use with Apple HomeKey via a suitable iPhone or Apple Watch. Optional Aqara NFC key fobs will also work with the U50, as well as the two provided keys as a manual backup. You also have access to the lock via both the Aqara app and your smart home platform of choice. In the case of third-party platforms aside from Apple Home, You can connect this lock to any Matter platform by binding the lock to a Matter-enabled Aqara hub using Zigbee. This then exposes the lock to that platform. This can be done via Apple Home too, although exposing the lock to Apple Home via a Matter activated hub will result in the loss of Apple HomeKey, which is a very popular feature for many Apple Home users.

Perhaps the most important change for users is the option to rekey the U50 in order to use your existing keys. This was nigh on impossible to do with the U100, but the U50 now uses a standard 5-pin deadbolt, making rekeying a lot more straightforward.

Aside from that, the U50 is much the same in all other aspects to its ‘older brother’, with a ton of features via the Aqara app, for things like time-sensitive, one-off, and periodic passcodes. Do Not Disturb options, and of course automation options via both Apple Home and Aqara Home, which also includes the option to associate the U50 with the company’s G4 video doorbell, which allows you to control the U50 directly from the same screen you use to view the live stream for the G4.

You can purchase the U50 from Amazon.com for US$149.99, with a special time-limited 20% OFF discount, using the following code – USCAU50P.

The post Aqara Unveils Budget Friendly U50 Deadbolt Smart Lock appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

Designed to be compatible with various locks available, the SwitchBot Lock Pro offers retrofit solutions tailored for both EU/UK and US households. Due to support for various lock types commonly found in these diverse regions, it’ll allows users worldwide to upgrade their old door locks swiftly, without the need for drilling or damaging their existing door or lock. The installation process also preserves the original key functionality, ensuring that you can still use it when necessary.

The SwitchBot Lock Pro is compatible with the following types of locks:

• Euro Profiles
• Knob Cylinders

For EU type locks, support will arrive shortly after the release of the locks to the market,

• UK Oval Cylinders (Anticipated support by late April)
• Swiss Round Cylinders (Anticipated support by late April)
• Night Latch Locks
• Multi-Point Lock (Without Auto-Lock Functionality)

The lock will come with an optional separate keypad that includes a biometric fingerprint sensor, and although it includes NFC, it won’t feature Apple HomeKey at this time. It’s important to note that the lock itself is not compatible with Apple Home by itself even though it has Bluetooth, so in order to expose it to any platform, a Switchbot hub will be required. If you already have the company’s Hub 2, you should be able to add this lock to the hub and also expose it to Matter.

The built in fingerprint sensor can store up to 100 separate prints, with a 98% recognition accuracy.

Speaking of unlock methods, the company claim there are a total of 15 methods available, although to be more accurate, some of those could easily be combined into one distinct option (NFC tags and Cards are pretty much the same method, basically). However, the Pro does offer enough options for almost all use cases, including your original keys of course.

The lock can also work with their newly available Switchbot Hub Mini 2, which saw a release in Japan in January of this year. It should be noted that currently the company will only be selling the hub with the Lock Pro as part of a package, with the hub itself not actually available for purchase separately. The company will offer the Lock Pro, Lock Pro + Keypad, and Lock Pro, Keypad + Hub Mini 2, as three optional packages. The new hub is Matter enabled, thus allowing the lock to be exposed to your Matter platform, but also another reason why there is currently no Apple HomeKey support.

When it comes to powering the lock, there are two methods both based around batteries; You can run the Pro on four standard AA batteries, where a claimed 270 days (around 9 months) of standard use,or you can use the company’s own rechargeable battery packs, which offers a maximum of 12 months between charges, with the design allowing for one of the two packs to be removed for recharging, whilst the lock continues to function with the remaining battery pack, for uninterrupted use.

Although the Lock Pro is listed on the company’s website, stock is unavailable at present, although it should be available there by March 31st, with product sold via Amazon available around April 10th. You can check out the prices of the different packages for your region via the special preorder page – US, EU, or UK.

The post Switchbot Announce Retrofit Smart Lock for US/EU appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

Whilst it’s designed to retrofit onto the inside of a door, it does come with a separate keypad for the outside of your home, that features a fingerprint sensor, NFC connectivity, and more. It can also work with standard North American deadbolt type locks with the help of some included adaptors. For European doors, you would need to ensure that your eurocylinder lock mechanism is of the type that supports what’s known as the ’emergency function’ option. This allows the door to be unlocked from the outside, even if a key is sat in the lock from the inside.

At CES 2024, the company touted the U200 as coming with Apple HomeKey, and although much of the coverage from online bloggers was gleefully reporting this, it’s currently a feature that has yet to be certified. That said, Aqara has tended to deliver on its promises, even if the timelines do get pushed back occasionally. If you’re not familiar with Apple HomeKey, it’s an Apple exclusive feature that allows users of iPhones (11 onwards) or Apple  Watches  (series 4 onwards) to unlock the door in pretty much the same way you would tap your bank card on an NFC reader to pay for your groceries. This feature will (we assume) work from the keypad, which also has a built in fingerprint sensor to match the company’s previous smart locks – A100, U100, and more.

Both the keypad and the retrofit lock motor use batteries, although interestingly, the keypad can be permanently powered by your existing doorbell wires if you have them (12-24V DC). The keypad is IXP5 outdoor rated, and the company claim it can withstand temperatures ranging from -18℃/0℉ to 66℃/151℉.

The U200 can use Bluetooth for a direct connection to your phone or Apple Home Hub (or their new Hub M3), although you can also connect it to existing Aqara hubs and expose it to your Matter platform of choice. The lock will come in up to three optional finishes; Black, White, or Silver – selling on Kickstarter for the preorder earlybird price of US$169.99, with the eventual retail price to be higher.

You can check out further details on the company’s specific Kickstarter page.

The post Aqara’s Kickstarter Campaign for the U200 Smart Lock Starts appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

First off is the U300, which stands out as the very first smart lever lock to use Matter over Thread, providing interoperability across a range of smart home platforms, with Apple HomeKey as one of its many selling points. Designed for both indoor and outdoor use, this new lock replaces conventional US levers or knobs with a deadbolt, making it ideal for side entries, garage access, home offices, basements, and storage rooms. the U300 offers a variety of access options, including fingerprints, passcodes, NFC, Apple HomeKey, and voice assistant integration (Siri, Google, Alexa etc).

The company claim 8 months of battery life for the lock, which is helped with the use of Matter over Thread, that is going to work very well with the forthcoming M3 Hub, due to it also acting as a Thread Border Router, a Matter Controller, and a Zigbee 3.0 hub. And speaking of Thread Border Routers…

This one will have caught everyone off guard, as we’re all familiar with smart plugs, but this new Aqara Border Router Plug signifies a groundbreaking development in smart plugs and stands out as one of the first plugs to integrate Thread Border Router capabilities. Fitted with Thread and dual-band Wi-Fi, this plug allows Matter controllers without Thread capabilities to manage Thread devices, facilitating integration of Thread devices into smart home systems without the necessity for a new Matter controller with Thread Border Router capabilities.

This plug is energy-efficient, especially in Thread-only mode, which diminishes idle consumption while extending the mesh Thread network by routing the data packets. It is also energy-conscious, delivering real-time and historical data on home energy consumption (via the Aqara app), enabling users to automate their electrical devices for reduced energy wastage. Furthermore, the Border Router Plug can detect the on/off status of the connected appliance and activate Aqara Home automations accordingly.

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Expanding on the success of the Aqara Hub M2, the M3 preserves essential features such as Zigbee hub functionality and an infrared (IR) blaster, while making a significant advancement by incorporating Thread and Bluetooth protocols. This upgrade transforms the M3 into a Matter controller and Thread Border Router, establishing it as a central control hub for a local, and future-proof smart home. The M3 also features 2.4GHz/5GHz dual-band Wi-Fi and Power over Ethernet (PoE) connection for both flexibility and stability.

The Hub M3 serves as the cornerstone in the Matter-enabled Aqara ecosystem. In addition to the range of Aqara accessories, users will now be able to integrate third-party Matter devices into the Aqara Home ecosystem, providing a unified smart home experience with a single product (as long as you’re happy to stay within their own platform of course). The M3 also exposes connected IR devices to Matter, allowing users to control and automate their infrared ACs and TVs via Aqara Home or any Matter ecosystems of their choice.

Designed for decentralised operation, the M3 offers edge capabilities for local control and automation. Its large eMMC storage enables local, end-to-end encrypted data storage and locally processed automation, reducing system latency and minimising reliance on cloud services. The M3 can connect to the Aqara Home app via your local network (LAN), ensuring continuous control of the Aqara system during cloud service or internet outage. The M3 also features dynamic leadership and automatic backup. With additional M3 hubs deployed to the network, automations can be automatically mirrored, preparing the new hub to take over the network if the leading M3 fails. Ultimately, the M3 hub will support binding between Aqara Thread devices, allowing some automations to remain functional even without a hub. These features provide users with seamless connectivity – locally.

The Aqara Hub M3 has been a long time coming, but it would seem whilst it’s already shipping to Chinese consumers, it’ll arrive a little later for international users, with a Q2 2024 release date slated.

The post Aqara Announce New Matter and Thread Devices at CES appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

I mention Matter at the start, as it would appear the company is headed in this direction, based on two things; First of all, from the prototype video they posted over a year ago, demonstrating their lock working with Matter;

The second indicator of a Matter version of their lock is via a listing for the Nuki Lock Pro (4th Gen) on the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) website that describes the lock as an “Electronic door lock that can be operated manually, via Bluetooth, WiFi and Matter over Thread.”

Whilst the company has relied upon standard HomeKit integration with versions 2.0 and 3.0 of their locks, using Bluetooth for connection, or with WiFi via their own bridge, it would now appear from the listing above that Thread will be at least one of the protocols they’ll be using going forward.

Despite all of this, it would still seem less likely that the new model will come with Apple HomeKey functionality, which is supposed to be something coming to the Matter standard at some point. Whether this hinges on the fact that both this lock and the forthcoming Aqara U200 smart lock are retrofit-type devices is unclear. Still, the latter also doesn’t clearly confirm Apple HomeKey as a selling point, but we remain hopeful.

The post Nuki Tease New Lock With Nov. 14th Announcement – Matter, Thread? appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

There is, however, no mention of Thread functionality at this time, or indeed Matter support, for which smart locks are already supported with the new standard. Having said that, it has previously been confirmed that the locks do contain a Thread radio and will be updated to be Matter-compatible at some point. John Martin, Co-Founder and CEO of Level Home;

“Our mission at Level is to deliver innovative and exquisitely designed smart home experiences. With our latest connectivity enhancements, we’re offering our customers even greater control and convenience in accessing their homes,” says  “We’re building on Level’s versatile product line to bring advanced technology into everyday life.”

Only the Level Lock+ Connect utilises Apple HomeKey (which is exclusive to Apple and won’t work with Google, Amazon or Android phones), although as with their other recent models, both locks will work with the company’s NFC keycards, as well as passcodes if you also have their optional keypad.

The Level Bolt and Level Lock+ are now essentially replaced with the expanded connectivity available through Level Lock+ Connect (US$349) and Level Bolt Connect (US$199). Level will also launch a Black Keypad accessory to complement consumers’ home design preferences. This, together with Level’s connected Lock+ and Bolt, is featured on the company’s rebranded website to showcase the complete product suite.

As many of our readers only use Apple HomeKit, you can still buy the company’s Level Lock+ with Apple HomeKey from Amazon, for US$329 in four finishes – Matte Black, Polished Brass, Satin Chrome, or Satin Nickel.

The post Level Adds WiFi Models To Smart Lock Range appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

This update means that the lock is now officially exposed to Apple Home for the first time, and as it’s Matter-compatible, it should also be exposed to other Matter-capable platforms, like Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and Samsung SmartThings. However, some of these platforms are still playing catch-up when it comes to support for some areas of Matter, including hubs/gateways, so it’s far from certain if the lock will be exposed to these other ecosystems via the hub.

For those with the Hub 2 and the smart lock, you’ll need the following;

• Switchbot app – V7.3
• Hub 2 firmware – 1.0-0.8
• Lock firmware – 6.5

The Switcbot lock is available in two finishes – Black or Silver, and can also be used with the company’s keypads, one of which also has a built-in fingerprint sensor. Just be aware that this update notification was via Switchbot Japan, so it’s entirely possible that the update has yet to arrive for other territories.

You can check out our written review of the Switchbot Hub 2, or you can watch the video below;

The post Matter Update Adds Support For Switchbot Lock appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.