The August Smart Lock was one of the most anticipated locks mainly due to a couple of reasons. The first reason is its design. And another reason is that it is an effective smart lock by itself. It works with your Android and iOS devices as long as it has Bluetooth. It is not much different than other smart locks, but it is very easy to install. You can actually attach it to any existing door bolts. It also has some effective geo-sensing features which are kind of a simple way to tell the automatically depending on proximity. It will talk to your phone, and if you re close enough then it will automatically unlock the lock and if you set it up, then once you walk away from it, it will make sure to lock it automatically as well. And this auto unlocks feature has a 100-yard range. So if you are within the 100 yards, then you don’t have to worry about it being locking it. For most people, this might be a broad range, and it would be perfect if it would have been about 10 yards or something. It would have been nice if there was an option to change it internally. August said they would be working on that as more and more people uses it and they gather more info as to how they are using it.
Like it is already mentioned, the lock is designed to work with your existing dead bolt set up. So as long as your hardware sit snug to the door, you can just remove the standard thumb turn and add on a plate depending on which lock you have installed. There are a couple of different options included with the August lock itself. You screw in the back plate into the existing key plate, and then you attach the August lock upfront. So anyone with basic mechanical knowledge will be fine with this installation. Using it with your phone is also very easy. All you have to do is download the August app and turn on the Bluetooth. You should be able to find it as long as you install the batteries inside the lock. The basic function of the lock is that it not only works as a standard lock, but you can also use your phone to open or close it. You hit the button here and over Bluetooth it will do everything. The Bluetooth connection is also pretty responsive. It works pretty fast, and it is pretty good instead of taking your key out of the pocket and do it. You can also assign access to different people who have the app. There is data tracking in the app so you can see how comes and goes inside the house with the help of that. And since it is only Bluetooth, it doesn’t talks to your internet at large, and hence you can’t really control it remotely.
The August Smart Lock work with a couple of hubs that will eventually give it that capability. It will also have home kit support with the Apple iOS. So once that happens you can just talk to Siri and get your door opened for you. So overall, August is pretty much one of my favorite. It works really well, its easy to install and because you add to an existing lock, nobody can tell what is on the inside as long as they are outside. So its discreet looks great and it is also very easy to use. It will cost $250 though, so you are really going to have to buy into the smart home ecosystem to get this. So this is one of the options if you want a reliable product i this category.
