Apple Stops Selling iPhone-Connected Smart Locks from August and Kevo
Over the course of the last week, Apple appears to have ceased selling two popular smart lock products in its retail stores and online. Neither the August Smart Lock nor the Kwikset Kevo Wireless-Enabled Deadbolt Lock are listed on Apple's website, but both were still for sale on November 13.
The August Smart Lock and the Kwikset Kevo are both Bluetooth-enabled locks that allow users to unlock their doors using their iPhones. It is not clear why Apple has decided to stop selling the locks, but it could be in an effort to highlight only products that offer HomeKit compatibility. The Kwikset Kevo and the August Smart Lock are not HomeKit-enabled products and cannot be used with other HomeKit devices.
While Apple is no longer selling the Kwikset Kevo or the August Smart Lock, it is selling the Schlage Sense Smart Deadbolt, another smart lock that does offer HomeKit compatibility. The Schlage Sense Smart Deadbolt is in fact the only locking product that offers HomeKit integration thus far. August has debuted a second-generation product that includes HomeKit integration, and when that begins shipping to customers, it's possible Apple may continue offering the August Smart Lock in its stores.
Apple has also pulled the Belkin WeMo switch from its online store, suggesting it may be ceasing to offer several home-connected products that are not also offering HomeKit to avoid confusing its customers.
Apple sells quite a few HomeKit products in its retail stores and online, offering devices from Ecobee, Philips, Elgato, Lutron, and Schlage.
Popular Stories
AirTags may be a convenient way for tracking dogs that might get off leash or otherwise lost, but there are dangers associated with the practice, as outlined by a report from The Wall Street Journal.
At 1.26 inches in diameter, AirTags are able to fit easily on a dog's collar, but that size also makes the tracking devices small enough to swallow, at least for a medium to large-sized dog, and ...
Apple has previously announced several upcoming iOS features that are expected to be added to the iPhone this year. Some of the features could be introduced with iOS 16.4, which should enter beta testing soon, while others will arrive later in the year.
Below, we have recapped five new iOS features that are expected to launch in 2023, such as an Apple Pay Later financing option for purchases ...
Apple's next device with an Apple silicon chip may not be a Mac or an iPad, but rather an advanced external display, according to recent reports.
The display, which is rumored to arrive this year, is expected to sit somewhere between the $1,599 Studio Display and the $4,999 Pro Display XDR – but more exact information about the device's positioning and price point is as yet unknown. While ...
In June 2022, Apple previewed the next generation of CarPlay, promising deeper integration with vehicle functions like A/C and FM radio, support for multiple displays across the dashboard, personalization options, and more.
Apple says the first vehicles with support for the next-generation CarPlay experience will be announced in late 2023, with committed automakers including Acura, Audi,...
When the original HomePod launched in 2018, it was discovered that the speaker can leave white rings on some wooden surfaces. Now, well-known YouTuber Marques Brownlee has confirmed that the issue persists to a lesser extent with the new HomePod.
In a side-by-side test, he showed that the white second-generation HomePod left a white ring on the wooden surface that he placed the speaker on,...
Apple's VP of hardware engineering Matthew Costello and product marketing employee Alice Chan recently spoke with Men's Journal and TechCrunch about the new second-generation HomePod in wide-ranging interviews about the smart speaker.
Apple discontinued the original full-size HomePod in March 2021 after multiple reports indicated that sales of the speaker were lackluster, but Chan told Men's ...
Top Rated Comments
However, the Schlage can be unlocked via 4 methods, Using the App on your iPhone, using Siri, Using the keypad on the deadbolt itself or using the actual key that comes with it (regular key, you can make duplicates at the hardware store).
If the battery dies (they're supposed to last one year), the first three methods won't work, but the key will always work, like a traditional deadbolt.
I also like that it doesn't have proximity unlock, because I don't trust these devices to be able to figure out if the iPhone that's in proximity is INSIDE the House or OUTSIDE. What if it's inside the house near the door and the house is locked? Anyone can unlock the door by just trying the handle? I don't know.. Anyway, Schlage isn't like this which was a bonus for me. And seeing as the Schlage isn't a true IoT device, the chances of getting it hacked are practically none since it doesn't communicate with the outside world like something like the Ecobee3, Nest products, etc.
Finally, everything inside the house is working beautifully for me, so I know it's really the connection to the outside via the Apple TV / iCloud / Network and a lot of other unknowns and uncontrollable aspects.
I just wish the kevo plus was cheaper. $70 additional to the locks for remote lock/unlock is a bit steep.
Edit - I have been using the locks for about 8 months (since mid April, 2015).