Kwikset Halo Choose overview: A wise compromise

Legacy lock maker Kwikset has been producing modern good locks since 2013, when it launched the primary touch-to-open lock, the Kwikset Kevo. The corporate adopted that up with the launch of one of many first key-free locks in 2016, one of many earliest Apple HomeKit locks, and one of many first fingerprint-only locks. Kwikset has not shied away from new tech.

Its newest mannequin, the Halo Choose ($279.99), is among the first full-replacement Matter-over-Thread good locks. I’ve examined nearly each good lock that Kwikset has made through the years, and that is its greatest but. It’s super-responsive with strong options and broad good house compatibility. It’s simply too dangerous that utilizing Matter means giving up its greatest characteristic.

The Halo Choose is a sleek-looking lock that ought to slot in with each conventional and up to date door units, though it has a contemporary slant. As Kwikset is one among two main residential lock firms (the opposite being Schlage), chances are you’ll have already got Kwikset locks and deal with units in your outer doorways, that means the Choose would possibly slot in with what you have already got — one thing few different good locks do.

It gives 4 entry strategies: a keyway (which is rekeyable), a touchscreen keypad, app / good house management, and auto-unlock based mostly on location. The latter labored so nicely that I didn’t thoughts the dearth of a fingerprint reader or Apple House Key — usually my two favourite entry strategies. (Kwikset has teased a Halo Choose Plus mannequin with an NFC chip, nevertheless it hasn’t mentioned whether or not that may work with House Key or the forthcoming Aliro normal.)

One in every of Halo Choose’s standout options is the choice to connect with your good house by way of Matter-over-Thread. This brings broad good house compatibility over an area protocol, working with Amazon Alexa, Google House, Apple House, and Samsung SmartThings, amongst others.

The Thread radio brings quicker response occasions than Wi-Fi and considerably longer battery life — nearly double based mostly on my testing. There are solely a handful of full-replacement Matter-over-Thread locks out there – together with the Degree Lock Plus, the Eufy E30, U-tec’s Matter lock, and the Yale Guarantee SL. However the Halo Choose is the best choice proper now.

To set it up with Matter, you want a Matter controller and a Thread border router. An Apple TV is each, or you need to use a mix, comparable to an Echo speaker (Matter controller) and an Eero Wi-Fi router (Thread border router). Alternatively, you’ll be able to join the lock utilizing its built-in Wi-Fi. This enables it to work with the Kwikset app, in addition to Amazon Alexa and Google House, by way of the cloud. You’ll lose the broader compatibility and battery lifetime of Matter-over-Thread, however in alternate, you get one of many Halo Choose’s greatest options: auto unlock.

Auto unlock is a comparatively new characteristic on Kwikset locks. It makes use of a mix of radios, together with GPS and Wi-Fi, to find out the place your cellphone is in relation to your property so it could actually unlock the door as you strategy.

This tech has been utilized in good locks for some time — it was first seen on the unique August good lock in 2013 — however every firm implements it barely otherwise. In most locks I’ve examined with the characteristic, it’s been unreliable, working solely about half the time. Nonetheless, on the Halo Choose, the expertise has been flawless, with the door unlocking simply as I strategy my porch, each time.

The Halo Choose also can auto-lock based mostly on location. Most good locks, together with the Choose, may be set to lock after a set time frame. In apply, this typically means your door locks behind you whenever you come out to seize one thing from the automotive. Kwikset’s location-based lock may be set to not lock till you’ve left the driveway.

The draw back is that the Kwikset app must be operating within the background, so if my cellphone died whereas I used to be out, it wouldn’t work except I remembered to open the Kwikset app after I powered it again on.

A brand new expertise referred to as ultra-wideband unlocking is coming (sometime) to resolve this drawback. It’ll talk straight between your cellphone and the lock, no app required, and will additionally work with gadgets like good watches. Within the meantime, Kwikset’s resolution is one of the best I’ve examined.

The opposite primary unlocking possibility is a touchscreen keypad. Whereas touchscreen keypads may be finicky, the Choose’s is tremendous responsive, and I just like the clicky suggestions it provides. Nonetheless, I’d wish to see higher fingerprint resistance, as you’ll be able to see them at some angles, which may very well be a safety concern.

The Kwikset app, which is straightforward and simple to make use of, allows you to share as much as 250 entry codes and select from short-term, scheduled, or everlasting entry. I like the brand new LED lock indicator, which lights up when the keypad does and reveals inexperienced for unlocked and crimson for locked. (Sure, I’ve typically discovered myself by accident locking an already unlocked door.)

Whereas I just like the look of the brand new Halo Choose, I don’t just like the outstanding Kwikset branding, and I want the lock itself have been smaller; the rear housing remains to be very massive. However the mechanism is far quieter than earlier Kwikset locks I’ve examined.

Set up and setup have been easy, due to an in depth and easy-to-follow in-app information. I used to be impressed with its tremendous slim door sensor that tucks up above the strike plate. This sends an alert by way of the Kwikset app when the door has been left open and may present you within the app if the door is open or closed whenever you management it remotely. Nonetheless, this solely works with the Kwikset app. It’d be good if it confirmed up as a sensor when the lock is related in Matter.

The lock must be arrange within the Kwikset app and related to Wi-Fi, however there’s then the choice to change it over to Matter-over-Thread. The app does job of creating it clear what is going to occur for those who do that — you lose entry to the lock within the Kwikset app and may not use the auto-unlock characteristic or entry the door sensor to see if the door is open or closed. However it additionally tells you what you’ll achieve. Matter-over-Thread does promise higher battery life, plus the power so as to add it to Apple House, Samsung SmartThings, and different platforms.

I set the lock up in Apple House and Google House by way of Matter with no points, and I might management it with routines and automations in each concurrently. As for battery life, it makes use of 4 AA batteries that Kwikset says will final six months on Wi-Fi and over a 12 months by way of Thread.

I examined it for 5 weeks on Wi-Fi and was at 50 %, that means I’d get simply over three months on Wi-Fi. After three weeks on Thread, it had solely dropped 10 %, an early indication that it ought to get the promised double battery life.

It’s irritating to forgo options to make use of Matter, however that is largely a difficulty with Matter, not Kwikset. Matter doesn’t assist auto-unlock, door sensing, fingerprint entry, or newer entry strategies like facial recognition. And whereas some ecosystems have geofencing automations that may be set to unlock your door, in my testing, they don’t work as nicely and typically require further steps.

All of which means that, at this time, selecting a sensible lock requires making some compromises. Kwikset’s resolution means that you can use a few of these extra superior options at this time whereas retaining the future-proofing potential of Matter for tomorrow.