This Matter-over-Thread smart lock is the first with a fingerprint scanner — U-tec’s Ultraloq Bolt Fingerprint deadbolt unveiled at $299
U-tec, the maker of one of our top picks for the best keyless entry door locks you can buy, has just unveiled an all-new Ultraloq Bolt Fingerprint Matter ahead of its official launch at CES 2024 next week.
As reported by The Verge, the company has this week shown off the world’s first deadbolt smart lock with a fingerprint scanner that supports Matter-over-Thread, making it a potent pick for a great future-proof smart door lock.
For the uninitiated, Matter is a burgeoning smart home standard that merges previously walled-off smart home ecosystems, such as Apple’s HomeKit, under one connectivity standard, allowing for greater interoperability. It will mean, in its final form, that you can use HomeKit devices with Alexa, Google Home devices with Siri, and much more. Thread is just one of the connectivity standards that powers Matter, but is noteworthy because of its extremely low power consumption. Utilizing both of these technologies, U-tec has a chance to offer a door lock that boasts good connectivity and lengthy battery life, two incredibly important features of any door lock.
Ultraloq Bolt Fingerprint Matter
The new Ultraloq is priced at $299, and, as noted, will work with Apple Home, Alexa, Google Home, and more. While this isn’t the first Matter smart lock to hit shelves, it is the first with a fingerprint scanner. As you might expect, it will be launched at CES 2024 alongside some other new smart home goodies, as well as a Wi-Fi version of the fingerprint lock, and a different version that supports Apple’s home key feature but doesn’t come with a fingerprint scanner.
As the report notes, all three are “full deadbolt replacement locks” that can be opened using either fingerprint (or home key, depending on the model), your actual key, a numeric code, the app, voice control, or auto-unlock.
The headline grabber is the Ultraloq Bolt Fingerprint Matter (Thread), which costs $299 and is launching at the end of March. The Thread version doesn’t support NFC or Wi-Fi. Before then, the Ultraloq Bolt (Wi-Fi) model will launch in January, with support for Wi-Fi and Apple Home, priced at $249. In April, the Ultraloq Bolt NFC (Wi-Fi) model, which also costs $249 will be launched. This offers Wi-Fi support for Apple Home, and NFC for home key, but doesn’t come with Matter support.
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