Does the August Smart Lock Pro work with HomeKit?

Being HomeKit-compatible means the Smart Lock Pro can join the rest of your home automation accessories such as smart lights and appliances. It also means that you can create different automation instructions for the Smart Lock Pro, such as automatically locking or unlocking when you leave or arrive at your home.

If you also have an Apple Watch, any requests made by the August Smart Lock Pro that get sent to your iPhone can also be sent to your watch, letting you approve or decline them without having to pull your phone out of your pocket. This sort of thing can be great if you require your Smart Lock Pro to request permission before it unlocks your door.

The convenience also extends past the smart features, and into the literal setup. The August Smart Lock Pro works with your existing deadbolt, replacing only the interior plate, and leaving the exterior side of your lock and the bolt itself unchanged. This means that not only do you get to keep your keys, but the setup should be less involved than a full replacement lock like those offers by Kwikset or Schlage.

One word: Security.

More words: HomeKit actually makes using the Smart Lock Pro a more secure prospect. As I said above, you can automate your Smart Lock Pro to automatically unlock when you arrive at your home. This might seem like a risky prospect that might lead to your door being accidentally unlocked when you don't need it to be.

But while this might be true when using your August outside of HomeKit, bringing your Smart Lock Pro adds additional security measures. When conditions are met to have your Smart Lock Pro unlock your door, the Home app automatically requests your permission before allowing the lock to do anything. And this isn't a setting, but rather something that's required in the name of better security.

So yes, having to give your lock permission to unlock every time you want to enter your home is a bit of a drag (I mean it's just tapping a button, but little things add up). And the fact that you need to unlock your iPhone first to unlock your door with Siri can also be annoying.

But what you're getting here is increased security. These annoyances are a part of the experience for every smart lock that you use with the HomeKit system, but rather than seeing them as reasons not to use the August or any other smart lock with Apple's system, I see them as reasons that you absolutely should use them with HomeKit. Not having these requirements could lead to vulnerabilities. I'd personally never use a smart lock without requiring it to ask for permission before it unlocked my door. As annoying as it undoubtedly is to have to do this every time, you know that your home is more secure because of it.

The August Smart Lock Pro is just one part of August's wider smart security ecosystem. The Smart Lock Pro experience can be enhanced thanks to the Connect, a Wi-Fi device that bridges the gap between your Smart Lock Pro and the internet, allowing you to interact with your lock when you're away from your home. If you don't need HomeKit functionality and want a less expensive lock, there's always the standard August Smart Lock.

You can also integrate August's keypad into your Smart Lock setup. The keypad allows you to create multiple unique entry codes from your smartphone, which you can give to friends and guests and disable at any time. Finally, there's the Doorbell Cam Pro which, it will not surprise you to learn, is a camera that you place at your front door. It allows you to see what's going on at your front door, and it alerts you when someone rings it, displaying live video and allowing you to, if necessary, unlock your August Smart Lock to let them in without answering the door yourself.