is a senior reviewer focused on smart home and connected tech, with over twenty years of experience. She has written previously for Wirecutter, Wired, Dwell, BBC, and US News.
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Smart locks are among my favorite pieces of smart home tech, offering convenience and peace of mind; I haven’t used a key in years. But most of them are big, clunky, and unmistakably “techy.” Keypads, bulky battery housings, and fingerprint readers mean they really stick out, on both sides of your door. If you want the convenience of a smart lock without the look of a smart lock, there’s really only one option: Level Lock. And now Level has launched its latest model, the Level Lock Pro.
For nearly a decade, Level has been making smart locks that look like regular deadbolts, with all the smarts hidden inside the footprint of a traditional lock. The Pro keeps that discreet exterior, but the interior has been totally rebuilt.
The $349 Level Lock Pro launches today and adds a faster dual-core Bluetooth/Thread chip, a built-in door sensor, a passive infrared sensor for presence detection, and double the battery life of the Level Lock Plus. It can be controlled with a regular key, Apple’s Home Key, a key fob, an optional keypad ($80), and with an app using Bluetooth or Matter connectivity.
The Level Lock Pro feels like the most complete realization of Level’s minimalist smart lock vision so far
Matter support means the Pro works with Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and Samsung SmartThings, among other options — a significant expansion from Level’s earlier Bluetooth-only locks, which were limited to Apple Home and Ring out of the box.
“The lock’s firmware platform is entirely new and built around Matter,” Ken Goto, Level’s founder and CTO, told The Verge in an interview. “This makes it faster and more responsive today, and moving forward, gives us a platform for creating new features and functionality.” He said the company is actively working on support for ultra-wideband (UWB) hands-free unlocking and the upcoming Aliro smart lock standard, which should standardize how smart locks use UWB and bring NFC tap-to-unlock to Android phones.
As with all Level Locks, the Pro is powered by a single CR2 battery that fits inside the bolt.
I have been testing the Pro for a few days, and it’s significantly faster than the Level Lock Plus I tested previously. The hardware remains almost identical; there are just a few subtle updates, including a color-matched strike/bolt plate and key cylinder and glass on the outer bezel hiding a new PIR sensor that’s designed to extend battery life.
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