GoKawiilis a senior reviewer with over twenty years of experience. She covers smart home, IoT, and connected tech, and has written previously for Wirecutter, Wired, Dwell, BBC, and US News.
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The Schlage Sense Pro is a beautiful smart lock. Sleek, discreet, and simple to use, it’s Schlage’s smartest lock to date. Thanks to ultra-wideband (UWB), it unlocks as I walk up to my front door; I don’t need to enter a code or tap my phone or press my finger against it. I’ve tested several hands-free unlocking systems that rely on geofencing and other radio technologies, and UWB is faster and more reliable. It’s the first one I actually trust.
The $399 Sense Pro is Schlage’s first smart lock with ultra-wideband auto-unlock, its first to support Matter-over-Thread, and its first without a physical keyhole. It works with Apple Home Key for both hands-free and tap-to-unlock access with an iPhone or Apple Watch. There’s no visible hardware on the front, just a barely perceptible Schlage logo and a keypad that only appears when you tap the lock. It looks high-tech enough to be at home on the USS Enterprise without looking out of place on my front door.
These are all great upgrades if you’re comfortable with smart locks — and I am. No one in my family has carried a physical door key for nearly a decade; controlling my lock remotely and sending visitors digital keys is something I would never give up.
But for some, this lock might be a touch too smart. With no keyway and a touchscreen keypad that disappears when not in use, it isn’t immediately obvious how to use it. Others — those with household members on Android — may need to wait for it to get a little smarter. While the Pro should work with Samsung and Google devices for hands-free and tap-to-unlock later this year, thanks to Aliro (see sidebar), it only works with iPhones and Apple Watches for now.
The tech can interpret the signals from the UWB antenna in the lock and the UWB radio in your phone or watch to determine not just where you are and how close you are, but also whether you’re actually approaching the door by tracking your distance, speed, and angle of approach. Schlage calls its implementation Schlage Converge.
The Sense Pro comes in matte black or satin nickel. It has a slimline exterior lock and a slightly larger interior portion that houses four AA batteries. The lock is rated to last six months on Wi-Fi and nine plus on Thread; there’s a USB-C charging port on the exterior for emergency power.
Hands-free unlocking is the main reason to consider buying this very expensive lock, but bear in mind that you will also need an Apple Home hub to use it with Apple Home Key. (And those just got more expensive.)
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