If your car could be opened with just the press of a button why not your door? August Smart lock answers that question and also you just could do that with your phone.
The lock comes with both a mobile app and a web app, so it can be used with all Bluetooth-LE-enabled smartphones. August will initially launch with iOS and Android apps. You can grant keyless access to friends, family and visitors by inviting them through the app. Then you can customize what days a person has access to your home, even during what hours, and revoke access whenever needed. The app also logs the time and date each user enters and exits through the door. This level of detail is handy especially when it comes to managing hired workers like dog-walkers, maids or contractors. You’re able to see whether they showed up on time, and how long they actually stayed in your house. Behar and Johnson are also already in talks with services like grocery delivery companies to implement August locks and apps.
Now that's way cool! but it gets cooler!
As for the social aspect, the August app also includes a Guestbook function, which lets people leave comments and photos for their guests or hosts. As soon as somebody enters your home, the app can send them a welcome greeting with some tips on the house. Guests can also leave their “Thank You” notes through the app.
There are, however, risks. Say, for example, you lose your phone. The August team has set up a way to lock the app and wipe all virtual keys. The lock is also encrypted, making it more difficult to hack. According to Johnson, the locks do not associate with specific addresses, so it is nearly impossible to associate a digital key with a specific door, should somebody else gain access to your phone. The August Smart Lock is also powered by internal batteries (which last up to a year), so you won’t get trapped outside of your house if the power goes out. (The lock will ping you when you need to replace the battery.) And since the August Smart Lock is dependent on BLE (Bluetooth low Energy), not Wi-Fi, you won’t get locked out if you don’t have internet connectivity.
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