There are plenty of smart home kit to ramp up your home security, and smart locks are ideal for making sure your gaff’s main entry point is safe. But those with UK locks face far fewer options. The new SwitchBot Lock Ultra smart lock just launched at the CES 2025 show, and I’m getting it.
SwitchBot claims you can retrofit the Lock Ultra onto 99.9% of existing locks. Deadbolts? Sorted. Mortise locks? Covered. Jimmy Proof locks? Yep, those too. For the rare 0.1% of locks that won’t cooperate, SwitchBot will even whip up a 3D-printed custom solution for you. That’s dedication.
To actually get your door open, SwitchBot uses some the FastUnlock System. This clever tech offers 16 different ways to unlock your door. Tap an NFC card, shout at Alexa, use your phone, or go for fingerprint recognition that works in a mere 0.3 seconds. Oh, and it remembers up to 100 fingerprints, so the entire extended family can get in without fuss. If you want them to, that is.
Worried about the lock dying at the worst time? There’s a rechargeable battery that lasts 9-12 months, depending on the size you pick. Live somewhere cold? There’s a cold-resistant emergency battery for those sub-zero moments. Even in the most catastrophic situations, a built-in supercapacitor microelectronic ensures emergency power kicks in to save the day.
Add to that a six-layer security system, including AES-128 encryption and tamper alerts, plus compatibility with Matter (provided you’ve got a SwitchBot Matter-enabled hub), and it’s clear this lock isn’t messing about. The SwitchBot Lock Ultra is available now, priced at $199/£160. Grab it directly from SwitchBot’s website or Amazon.