Aqara has released their first UWB Smart Lock at CES in Las Vegas today, the Aqara U400 Smart Lock. This deadbolt lock features an NFC reader with Apple Home Key support, a fingerprint reader. You can also unlock your door with a pincode or UWB. With Ultra-Wideband, the lock knows your position and distance relative to the door, and opens automatically when you’re approaching the door. The Aqara Smart Lock U400 is available in black and grey and available immediately on Amazon in the United States ($269,99) and Canada ($374,99).
Aqara U400 with UWB
The main new feature of the Aqara u400 is Ultra-Wideband. With UWB, the locks work together with your iPhone to unlock the door. With UWB chips both in your iPhone and the lock, it can determine the exact distance between you and the lock, but also on which side of the door you are. This way, the door automatically unlocks when you’re approaching the lock, but only when approaching from outside. This avoids unnecessary unlocking when approaching the door from the inside. With UWB, you no longer need a pincode, fingerprint or use Apple Home Key, as the door opens automatically when needed. UWB will also be part of the new Aliro standard, which will enable support for other phones like Samsung and other Android smartphones as well. For now, this feature is only available within the Apple Home app on an iPhone. The Aqara U400 is Aliro ready, which means it will support the standard when it launches later this year.
Matter over Thread
The Aqara U400 is mostly similar to their previous U100 and U50 smart locks. It works with Matter over Thread, which means you can directly connect it to Apple Home, Google Home or platforms like Homey, Home Assistant or Amazon Alexa if you have a compatible hub. You can also use Bluetooth to connect it to the Aqara app, or use a hub with Thread support, like the M3, M100, M200 or G410 doorbell or G5 Outdoor Camera. Next to UWB, you can unlock the door with either a fingerprint, pincode, NFC card, Apple Home Key, a mechanical key or via the Aqara app. There is a rechargeable and removable battery on the inside of the lock which uses USB-C for battery power up to 6 months.
Availability and Price
The Aqara U400 Smart Lock is now available on Amazon in the United States for $269,99 and in Canada for $374,99. It comes in Black and Grey. Currently, there are no UWB locks available yet in Europe. However, with the new Aliro standard launching this year, new locks with UWB from Aqara and other Smart Home brands are expected later this year.
