At CES today, smart lock maker August announced the newest addition to its home security line, called the August Smart Lock Mortise Kit. The company called the new product the first solution in North America that converts mortise style door locks into smart locks. Mortise locks are typical in multi-unit apartment buildings and integrate the locking bolt functionality directly into a door's handle.

With the new kit, August said that building managers can install smart locks in their properties and control access to the building, as well as individual units, all from the connected August smartphone app. The August Smart Lock is installed on the inside of the door, so all of the fixtures remain unchanged on the outward-facing side, and users can still use a traditional keyed entry if they desire.

august-smart-lock-mortise-kit
August has given the Mortise Kit to some property owners in a beta test:

“We’ve been Beta testing the August Smart Lock in our properties. We embrace innovation that serves our customers and the new mortise solution offers benefits for our apartment residents, and for us as the property owner,” said Yat-Pang Au, CEO of Veritas Investments, owner operator of $2 billion in urban mixed use multi-family and retail property in San Francisco.

“Residents appreciate the control and improved home security August offers. As a property owner, the flexibility to offer residents shared-economy services including laundry pickup, cleaning and grocery delivery is a great benefit too.”

Additionally, August announced a partnership with Logitech's POP home switch system. With the collaboration, users can create home automation recipes through a POP switch without having to interact with any connected smartphone apps after the initial set-up process. For example, a switch next to your bedside table can send a signal to an August lock, and lock up your house when tapped at night. Logitech sells the POP switch on Amazon at $99.99 for the starter pack of two switches and one bridge, while additional switches can be added on at $39.99.


For those interested in the August Smart Lock Mortise Kit, which encompasses a mounting plate and adapter, the company mentioned that it will be available for certified locksmiths, property developers and managers for $100. That'll be added on top of the base price of the August Smart Lock, which costs $229 and was last updated with HomeKit and a new design in April 2016.

Top Rated Comments

44267547 Avatar
114 months ago
Not a fan of the August format of needing either a key or a phone with you. A phone is still a key. I prefer my Schlage lock, whereby I can use a key, phone, OR manually type in a PIN.

Unfortunately though, all of these locks are still ugly. August is just ugly on the inside. There’s just too much bulk. It will be nice when the electronics can be shrunk down significantly, or even housed completely within the door prep.
Schlage locks are not the most aesthetically looking, but they certainly are some of the best made. At least for the current price tag.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Alexlfm Avatar
114 months ago
Schlage locks are not the most aesthetically looking, but they certainly are some of the best made. At least for the current price tag.
It's actually even worse for me, I had to mount it upside down and in the regular handle spot since I have an older house which has a storm door on the garage for some reason and the keypad area protrudes enough where the touchpad hits the storm door handle if I mounted it right side up. It looks absolutely ridiculous :). Still, the lock is one of the best purchases I've ever made. I've had it since it came out (I think 3 years now) and I now pretty much never carry my keys when I go out for a run/exercise and during the winter, I often completely forget where I put my keys in my coat (or even if they're in my coat) since I have a push start car and card key for the office and always use the combo entry since it's just easier. The Wink integration that they added really makes this lock the only one to consider for me and its made me consider buying a second one for my main entry door as well.

I don't think I'd ever trust any of these new companies with something like a door lock. Schlage seems to take security both "the cyber" and physical seriously, as they should. They don't directly connect the lock over any vulnerable wifi/bluetooth, it requires the administrative code which is 6 digits to pair or un-pair it to a compatible Z-Wave hub, the lock uses the high quality schlage strike plate/anti-kick features and on top of that it has physical anti tamper and kick alarms/alerts. I don't understand why you would pay more for a worse product; Even if it is a little bit bulky it's a lock not a fashion item. To me it makes as much sense as buying a less secure alarm system just because the better one doesn't look as nice... What's the point of a security product that doesn't do security first?
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro and Air Feature

Two iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air Colors Appear to Scratch More Easily

Friday September 19, 2025 10:02 am PDT by
As reported by Bloomberg today, some of the new iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air models on display at Apple Stores today are already scratched and scuffed. French blog Consomac also reported on this topic. The scratches appear to be most prominent on models with darker finishes, including the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max in Deep Blue, and the iPhone Air in Space Black. Images Credit: Consoma ...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Foldable iPhone Like 'Two Titanium iPhone Airs' Joined at the Hinge

Monday September 22, 2025 2:16 am PDT by
Next year's rumored foldable iPhone will showcase an ultra-thin design resembling "two titanium iPhone Airs side-by-side," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Writing in the Q&A section of his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman says Apple's first foldable device will be "super thin and a design achievement," combining Apple's thinnest iPhone form factor with cutting-edge folding...
iOS 26

Everything New in iOS 26.1 Beta 1

Monday September 22, 2025 12:44 pm PDT by
Apple released the first beta of iOS 26.1 today, just a week after launching iOS 26. iOS 26.1 mainly adds new languages to Apple Intelligence, but there are a few other features that are worth knowing about. New Apple Intelligence Languages Apple Intelligence is now available in Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (Traditional), and Vietnamese. AirPo...
iOS 26

iOS 26.0.1 Coming Soon, Likely With iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro Fix

Thursday September 18, 2025 9:17 am PDT by
Apple is preparing to release iOS 26.0.1, according to a private account on X with a proven track record of sharing information about future iOS versions. The update will have a build number of 23A350, or similar, the account said. It is likely that iOS 26.0.1 will fix a camera-related bug on the new iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro models. In his iPhone Air review, CNN Underscored's Henry T. ...
iPhone 17 Pro Colors

iPhone 17 Pro Max Teardown Reveals Qualcomm's Snapdragon X80 Modem for 5G

Friday September 19, 2025 7:39 am PDT by
While the iPhone Air is equipped with Apple's custom C1X modem for cellular connectivity, all of the iPhone 17 models are outfitted with Qualcomm modems still. A teardown video shared on Chinese platform Bilibili today (via Reddit) appears to confirm the iPhone 17 Pro Max is equipped with Qualcomm's Snapdragon X80 modem in particular. The same modem is likely used in the iPhone 17 and iPhone ...
iPhone 17 Pro and Air N1 Feature

Some iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone Air Users Experiencing Intermittent Wi-Fi Issue

Monday September 22, 2025 8:44 am PDT by
Apple's latest iPhone models launched on Friday, and some early adopters of the devices are experiencing intermittent Wi-Fi issues. Affected customers say Wi-Fi connectivity periodically cuts out on the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air, with hundreds of comments about the issue posted across the MacRumors Forums, Reddit, and the Apple Support Community over the...