There are some things that simply can’t be replaced by technology.
But as you are about to find out, your front door lock isn’t one of them.
There are a few digital locks on the market, but after hearing a lot about the August Smart Door Lock, we decided to give it a try. The lock aims to replace the traditional deadbolt lock with a wireless, smartphone-controlled, electronic lock. It locks and unlocks the door with a tap on the screen of your iPhone or Android phone.
You are probably thinking, ‘that is not quicker than using my key!’, but that is just the start…
Using the August app, you can distribute digital “keys” to family members, house guests, cleaning services, contractors or others who require entry. Better yet, you can control those keys. For instance, you can limit when, and for how long, they are active. You wouldn’t need to make copies of your physical keys ever again, so there is no risk of them being copied or stolen from under the flower pot.
It also has two more advanced, optional features that we think are really useful. One, called Auto-Unlock, detects your smartphone as you approach the door and unlocks it without requiring you to use your phone or your keys—which is especially useful when your arms are full with shopping, a bicycle, children, etc. The second, locks the door again after 30 seconds, so you will never again forget to lock up.
It also doesn’t disable your existing key-and-lock mechanism. So if for any reason you don’t want to pull out your phone to lock or unlock your door from the outside, you can still do it the old fashioned way.
One thing we were concerned about was the devices dependence on Wifi or another electrical system. But it relies on good old standard AA batteries that the company says should last for a year, and it communicates with the August app on your phone via Bluetooth. So even if your power or Wifi go down, you won’t be locked out of your house.
The Auto-Unlock feature only works from the outside, so the door doesn’t accidentally unlock when someone rings the bell and you go to see who is there with your phone in your pocket or hand.
The August Smart Door lock ranges from £149 - $249 depending on which model you get, and can be bought on their website, Amazon or a number of other retailers. And for those who are wondering if it is compatible with Amazon’s Echo or Google Home—it is!
Will you find our homes protected by digital smart locks by next year? Probably not. But you may find the Oliver Parks offices are. The benefits of smart door locks are particularly useful to businesses who have cleaning companies, contractors, temporary staff and the like needing access for short periods of time. Either way, we think August is on to something.
It is certainly a space to watch.
About Oliver Parks
Oliver Parks offers search-based recruitment solutions to the technology sector, specialising in the ERP, CRM, CMS, ECM and Business Intelligence spaces. The firm’s multilingual consultants operate in narrowly-defined niche market segments, enabling them to gain extensive knowledge of the people and companies operating in each technology. Oliver Parks has a proven track-record with more than 100,000 candidates worldwide and more than 300 clients globally. For more information, please get in touch.