The touchless smart locks are here

Smart lock companies have spent 2024 crafting ingenious ways for you to get in your front door, including iPhone-tapping Home Keys of Aqara, a palm scanner from Philips, keyboard and fingerprint option from August, and also a Face ID-style one of Lockly. All of this is already futuristic enough… but does it feel like magic?

I’m talking magic like how the driver’s door of my car unlocks without me having to do or touch anything other than pull the handle. I’m talking about smart home locks that see me approach and act – so I don’t need to pause and interact with something when I indeed just run inside to use the bathroom.

Fortunately, at CES 2025, several smart lock manufacturers are ready to launch models that offer passive touchless entry support. This means you don’t need to take extra steps, like pulling an RFID fob out of your pocket or slamming your Apple Watch against a pad to unlock your door. (That’s how it was last year!)

One of the most promising closings of the show is the newcomer from Schlage Sense Pro Smart Deadboltwhich comes equipped with a ultra wide band (UWB) chip that will sense the trajectory and movement of your paired smartphone to know when to activate an unlock for you.

Now the Bolt mission is here at CES with a “Q1 2025” launch schedule, a price of $399and a promise that Aliro and Apple Home hands-free are coming. There is also the Lockly Secure Pro which also promises Apple’s touchless function, costs $379.99, and will arrive in Q4. While it will still be a while before many of these devices are on the market, UWB-powered smart lock options are clearly coming soon.

Of course, many companies are still sticking to other unlocking technologies instead of UWB. That includes palm scanner locks like TP-Link Become PalmKey and TCL’s Smart Lock D1 Pro, both of which claim to use AI to scan hand vein patterns. Meanwhile, others like the Lockly style I’m just here to look good. Heck, if you prefer to have everything but UWB, you can check out the new SwitchBot Lock Ultrawhich has literally 16 different methods of unlocking handy.

Smart lock manufacturers are trying almost anything now, including adding digital spies to chains like on the new one. Lockly Vision Presage and TCL Smart Lock Ultra. But what’s really missing from smart homes today is that new car feeling: where you finally get off the lot that no longer needs to think about old ideas like lock, unlock and push to start. We have yet to see these locks in action to see if they can reliably and safely pull off their hands-free operation. But the opportunity will come. I hope smart lock companies keep this sense of transformation in mind as they launch products with UWB this year.