August Smart Lock begins shipping


Last year the August Smart Lock was announced and began pre-orders. What was originally due to ship by end of year slipped repeatedly. Now the August Smart Lock appears ready to ship. In a blog post the company announced limited quantities would begins filling pre-orders over the coming months.

The lock works by fitting over an existing dead-bolt door lock. The mechanism physically moves the lock when commanded via Bluetooth. It's priced at $250 for retail. Pre-orders were available for $200.

I ordered one and a over a year later I'm not too sure why. Yeah, it's neat, but it's pricy for a retrofit lock. As is the case with these startup products, by time they ship fast followers are already to market. There are a number of integrated Bluetooth locks available now for the same price or less.