August have been blazing trails in the Canadian Home Automation market ever since they introduced their first smart lock a couple of years back. Priding themselves on easy installation and simple operation, they’ve always tried to be one step ahead of their competition.
What is an August Lock?
The August group were one of the first smart home companies to introduce a lock that didn’t need you to replace the outer half of your deadbolt (and therefore not need you to pick up a new set of keys as a backup) and when Apple came calling, they were one of the first companies to adopt Homekit compatibility.
An August Lock is simple to install. You simply remove the manual inner half of your deadbolt and replace it with the August one. August syncs up to your smart device and functions as a virtual key when triggered via Bluetooth connection. The August Connect adds a Wi-Fi bridge to allow you to operate it from anywhere to let guests in, or, say, to allow the mailman to come in and drop a package off in your lobby.
What is New for August Lock?
With these innovations in mind, it shouldn’t be surprising that August has stepped up again to introduce more creativity to their product line at CES this year. Here’s what August will be bringing to the home automation market in 2017.
Mortise Kit
Up until now, homeowners with mortise kit installations have been largely excluded from having smart locks. Considering a lot of new homes (especially multi-unit condos and newer development townhouses) use these single plate installations to add security and style to their front doors, installing a smart lock hasn’t been possible because of the fact that they’ve traditionally been supported by stand alone deadbolt cylinders.
That is, until now. This new Mortise Kit changes the game a bit, allowing these homeowners to install this lock with different hardware attachments out of the box. The kit will come equipped to work with many mortise-style locks, including those from Yale and Schlage.
As always, once you have an August Lock installed, you can immediately incorporate it into the many supported partner programs it’s a part of, including Works with Nest.
The Mortise Kit should be available shortly.
Integration with Logitech Pop
There will also be integration with the Logitech’s Pop peripheral. Logitech Pop is a button controlled device that can run a multitude of supported home automation products simultaneously with the push of a button. Using a “recipe” system, you can accomplish multiple tasks by activating it (for example, you can shut your lights off and turn your music on.) If you have a Logitech Pop device and an August Connect, you can now program your lock to work in conjunction with it too. For example, if you’re going to bed, you can trigger your Logitech pop to shut the TV and lights off and double check that your August lock is locked.
This Integration with Logitech Pop won’t require any new hardware if you already have a Pop device and Connect. Look for that to be available in future updates put out.
Once again, August continues to remain supportive of smart homeowners’ lock needs and this is just one of the many innovations you’ll see at CES and can expect to read about here at Plug In. Please check back regularly to read more blogs like this one hot off the CES floor.
I love my August lock, auto unlock works every time , and the keypad/homekit is a great backup.
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