“In June, Apple (AAPL) announced HomeKit, its platform for integrating smart gadgets through iOS. If all goes according to Apple’s plan, your iPhone or iPad will become the hub for controlling your personal Internet of Things,” Belinda Lanks reports for Bloomberg. “But for that to happen, the tech giant needs companies to develop home gadgets for its framework, much as it needed apps to build up the App Store. That’s why it will be selling, in all its U.S. stores, a smart lock designed by Yves Béhar and called August.”
“August joins a handful of other products that can connect to HomeKit, including Philips’s remote-controlled Hue light bulbs, Belkin’s WeMo switch, and the iBaby monitor,” Lanks reports. “With August, Apple is beginning to amass an ecosystem of products that can be triggered just by talking to your iPhone. Tell Siri you’re turning in for the night, for instance, and, through HomeKit, the lights will be turned off, the baby monitor will go on, and the doors will lock.”
“Part of the beauty of the design is how easy it is to install using a single screwdriver,” Lanks reports. “You remove the two screws holding the thumb turn (that knob you turn to lock and unlock a standard dead bolt), secure the August mounting plate over the hole with the same screws you took out, and clip the electronic lock onto the plate. August then functions like your old thumb turn, locking and unlocking when rotated. The process takes about 10 minutes… The lock retails for $249 — the same price as Google’s Nest thermostat.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Nest is likely already rueing the day they sold out to Google and Android. Cheapskate customers who settle for BOGOF knockoffs can’t or won’t spend $250 on thermostats and door locks. iPhone users can and do.
Any home automation scheme that doesn’t work well with iPhone and iPad is DOA. And, the home automation solution that will work best with the devices that the vast majority of affluent homeowners use, iPhone and iPad, will be Apple’s [HomeKit]. Period.
Related articles:
With HomeKit and Honeywell’s Lyric, a Nest acquisition by Apple would have been foolish – June 18, 2014
Will Apple’s Internet of Things vision hurt a beautiful idea? With HomeKit, Apple promises easy home automation – June 6, 2014
Smart thermostat war heats up as Apple-partner Honeywell takes aim at Google’s Nest – June 13, 2014
Honeywell takes dead aim at Google’s Nest with new iPhone-compatible Lyric smart thermostat – June 10, 2014
Dead to me: Apple’s Schiller ‘unfollows’ Tony Fadell and Nest after Google acquisition – January 18, 2014
Hope I can make my own shiznit to control my own home – maybe with an Arduino, my self propelled mower or pool Vac.
What if you have a keyed inside deadbolt?
As I understand it, this is a significant safety issue in case of emergency. In a fire, you could be locked inside.
It’s nice that you can install it with a screwdriver but ummm…where does the lock gets its power from? Do you have to wire it into the doorbell or something?
It has 4 AAA batteries, just curious though, your doorbell is installed in the swinging door, not on the wall or door frame?
Batteria Aziz…
The type of physical key the the lock uses is too simplistic, it is cracked in just half of a minute.
Will be there a better version of the lock that would require at least five minutes to crack by a professional?
Of course, any lock can be cracked by a professional in matter of minutes (or tens of minutes maximum), but the type of lock shows in the video can be cracked literally by anyone who would want to do it — no professionalism required whatsoever.
They don’t provide the key or the lock. So you are saying that deadbolts by the manufactures currently supported by this product: http://www.august.com/compatible-deadbolts.html are not adequate?
I was asking about others locks because the key they have shown in the video is the weakest of all possible. If there is good choice of better keys/mechanism, then it is the answer to my question.
Looks like an awesome product. If it works well, I’d love to get one installed for my home.
And perhaps the Apple TV is the home portion of the control chain, communicating with the iPhone and devices, and providing additional intelligence for security. The Insteon box is notorious for failure, and has thwarted adoption of their system for many. A power line connected device like the Apple TV would be a perfect interface.
in that scenario, a thief could simply clip your ISP line and walk in?
all a crook need is a decent sledgehammer
has a lock ever been stolen?
The Look is 1st class. However, Bluetooth sucks, not reliable. No internet connection? How is it smart? I have used a remote dead bolt since 1999. Works great. Get this for $86 bucks instead: http://www.amazon.com/Morning-Industry-RF-01P-Frequency-Deadbolt/dp/B000FBU2KM/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1413322637&sr=8-7&keywords=remote+dead+bolt#productDetails
Not sure how it’ll work for me as most of the doors in my house have both a deadbolt and a locking handle but, hey!, I’m a high tech guy. So I ordered one (months ago). Still hasn’t arrived. And there’s not a way on their website to cancel your order if, for example, you have died in the interim.
Looks neat, but I’ll need to do some research before I buy one, a few questions come to mind.
So if you are sitting on your couch, or just walk past the door inside the house.. Will the lock just unlock if you are already inside?
Go outside without keys/iPhone for whatever reason.. Will the lock pretty much lock you out of the house? (I don’t have my keys or iPhone on my when I mow the lawn for example)
Like I said, I do like the idea. The auto lock/unlock part i’m not so sure on.
Always hated the electric combo door locks. the RF ones like Charles Hodgson linked above.. you have to carry an extra key fob. (And RF stuff *can* be bypassed/hacked)
Would rather have something that works like Pay really. Use my fingerprint or even a simple 4 digit code into an app on my iPhone.
I thought of that smart lock a couple of years ago.
You lose when you snooze…
but the problem is it can’t be opened over the internet. This is a good thing in that it can’t be easily hacked… but bad because..when your Aunt & Uncle who don’t own a smart phone unexpectedly show up on your doorstep, you can’t let them in.
Sounds like it will work with an iPod touch. Perhaps you should be a nice niece/nephew and purchase them one. Worst case, the mechanical key still works – you can leave it under the door mat, which is probably what they do.
My non-technical wife is actually intrigued by this device. We have a unique situation though – have a non-verbal, cognitively impaired kiddo. Probably have 15-20 different people at any given time that need access to our home that help out with his care or provide therapy for him.
It would be nice to provide them with unique access. See when they arrive and leave. Remove access for them as new people are used and others no longer are involved with him.
Currently everyone just gets the same 4 digit garage code and we are just rather trustworthy (guess you need to be anyway, given the position they are in). But for us, this would be like everyone having their own, but different key. That is way too difficult with the garage door PIN system – need a ladder and have to erase all codes and reprogram them all back in each time.
And most everyone has a smartphone anymore. Its hard for me to think of anyone I know that does not, aside from one stubborn grandparent – but that’s OK, his better half has an iPhone.
FWIW – This keypad deadbolt allows multiple users with unique codes. You can add an Internet bridge to allow remote locking/unlocking and notification of users coming and going.
http://t.homedepot.com/p/Schlage-Camelot-Antique-Brass-Keypad-Deadbolt-BE365-CAM-609/100608039
Over time those keypads show the keys most used.
We have similar ones at work, anyone that doesn’t know the combo.. can easily guess the numbers used for the combo. they are shiny/worn.. the rest look brand new.
Unless you change the code often and utilize every key, the code will become apparent over time. (The numbers used anyway)
Maybe the White House could use one.