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Smart lock companies have spent 2024 crafting nifty ways for you to gain entry into your home, including iPhone-tapping<\/a> Home Key options from Aqara, a palm scanner<\/a> from Philips, keypad and fingerprint<\/a> smart locks from August, and even a Face ID-style<\/a> one from Lockly. These all sound pretty futuristic already… but do they feel like magic?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n I\u2019m talking magic like how my car\u2019s driver door unlocks without me needing to do or touch anything other than pulling on the handle. I\u2019m talking about smart home locks that see me approaching and take action \u2014 so I don\u2019t have to pause and interact with anything when I really<\/em> just need to run inside to use the bathroom.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Luckily, at CES 2025, many smart lock makers are poised to launch models that offer touchless passive entry support. That means you won\u2019t need to take extra steps like pulling out an RFID fob from your pocket or smacking your Apple Watch against a pad to unlock your door. (That\u2019s so last year!)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n One of the most promising locks from the show is Schlage\u2019s new Sense Pro Smart Deadbolt<\/a>, which comes equipped with an ultra wideband (UWB)<\/a> chip that will sense your paired smartphone\u2019s trajectory and motion to know when to trigger an unlock for you.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Now, the Bolt Mission is here at CES with a \u201cQ1 2025\u201d launch timeframe, a $399 price tag<\/a>, and a promise that Aliro and Apple Home hands-free are coming. There\u2019s also the Lockly Secure Pro<\/a>, which promises Apple\u2019s touchless feature, costs $379.99, and will arrive in Q4. While it\u2019ll still be a while before a lot of these devices are on the market, the UWB-powered smart lock options are clearly arriving soon.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Of course, plenty of companies are still sticking to other unlock technologies instead of UWB. That includes palm scanner locks such as TP-Link\u2019s Tapo PalmKey<\/a> and TCL\u2019s Smart Lock D1 Pro, both of which claim they use AI to scan for vein patterns in your hand. Meanwhile, others, like the Lockly Styla<\/a>, are just here to look nice. Heck, if you\u2019d rather have everything but UWB, you can look at SwitchBot\u2019s new Lock Ultra<\/a>, which literally has 16 different hands-on-something unlocking methods. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Smart lock makers are trying pretty much anything right now, including adding digital peepholes to deadbolts in the new Lockly Vision Prestige<\/a> and TCL Smart Lock Ultra. But what\u2019s really missing from smart homes today is that new car feeling: where you finally drive off the lot no longer needing to think about age-old ideas like lock, unlock, and push to start. We still have to see these locks in action to see whether they can reliably and securely pull off their hands-free feat. But the opportunity is coming. I hope the smart lock companies have that transformative feeling in mind as they launch products with UWB this year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n