You’ll need a new smart lock if you want Apple Home to ‘magically’ unlock your door

Existing Home Key-capable smart locks like this Aqara lock won't work with the new hands-free unlock feature for Apple Home. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge

Last week, Apple announced it's bringing hands-free unlocking for smart locks to Apple Home when iOS 18 arrives this fall. The new capability leverages the U1 ultra wideband (UWB) chip in many iPhones and Apple Watches to allow a smart lock to open automatically as you approach the front door - no tapping required.

But hands-free unlocking isn't coming to your existing Home Key smart lock because no current locks have the hardware to support it. To use this cool new feature, you're going to have to buy a new lock, and we likely won't see any UWB-enabled smart locks until the end of 2024 at the earliest.

Apple's hands-free unlocking won't be coming to your existing Home Key smart lock

The new capability is part of Home Key - a feature of...

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