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The best smart locks of CES 2021

CES 2021 brought some of the best new smart home tech of the year, including some incredible new smart locks from Lockly, BenjiLock, and August aimed at bolstering home security.

It’s never a good feeling when you can’t remember if you locked the door — especially if you’re away from home or comfortably under the covers. These new smart locks help instill peace of mind by making it easy to lock and unlock the door remotely, track who enters the home and when, and much more.

Lockly Duo

The Duo is Lockly’s newest innovation in the world of smart locks, a two-in-one latch and deadbolt smart lock. The Lockly Duo combines both security features into a single device. Just close the door and lift the latch upward to secure both at the same time, in the same motion.

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The Lockly Duo can be combined with the Secure Link Wi-Fi Hub to enable Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant integration, enabling users to lock and unlock the door with voice commands.

The Duo also uses a digital keypad with Lockly’s PIN Genie technology. The company claims this is “hackproof” because the position of the numbers moves around each time the keypad is used. No one will be able to guess your PIN just by watching the position of your fingers.

The 3D biometric fingerprint sensor uses advanced scanning sensors that read a 3D image of your finger. This means no one can fake your fingerprint to gain entry into your home. If the babysitter needs to get inside, you can grant an access code or simply unlock the door from afar. The Lockly Duo is expected to be available in the first quarter of 2021 at an estimated price of $400.

Read more about the Lockly Duo

 ces 2021 top tech benjilock

BenjiLock

The BenjiLock might be a familiar name if you’re a fan of Shark Tank. The company found investors through the show and made a name for itself. The BenjiLock is a deadbolt with a fingerprint scanner that can be installed on most any door. It was specifically designed to operate without Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, allowing for a much wider range of applications. For example, it can be used in summer homes or in mountain cabins that may not have Wi-Fi connections.

The fingerprint scanner can store 10 fingerprints and up to 25 user codes. All fingerprints and codes are stored directly on the device without the use of an app. The BenjiLock uses a touchscreen on the front face of the deadbolt and randomizes the location of the numbers each time to add another layer of security.

The BenjiLock is also designed to be resistant  to lock picking or bumping, as well difficult to drill through. The lock is powered by a set of four AA batteries and it’s available for purchase now for around $159.

ces2021 eufy smart touch lock

Eufy Smart Lock Touch

The Eufy Smart Lock Touch is a slight variation of the model from last year. The digital keypad on the Eufy Smart Lock Touch is invisible until touched, at which point a backlight illuminates the pad so you can easily see to enter a code. The entire smart lock is also IP65 rated and capable of standing up to most weather conditions.

The standout feature of the new Eufy Smart Lock are its built-in Wi-Fi capabilities. You can set up the lock without any need for a Wi-Fi bridge on your router.

The Eufy Smart Lock Touch has security built into its design. The lock is not streamlined and elegant like many others on the market, but instead looks bulky and intimidating. It is rated for one year of battery life, but it also has a Micro USB port on the bottom of the lock that you can connect to a power source.

You can unlock the Eufy Smart Lock Touch through the fingerprint reader or the digital keypad, or by using the app. The Eufy Smart Lock Touch has an interesting feature called Password Scramble that allows users to enter random digits before or after the password. It will still recognize the password, but will throw off anyone who’s watching as the code is being entered.

The Eufy Smart Lock Touch is expected to be available in February at a price of $250.

Read more about the Eufy Smart Lock Touch

Patrick Hearn
Patrick Hearn writes about smart home technology like Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, smart light bulbs, and more. If it's a…
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