At
some
point
next
year,
Samsung
users
should
be
getting
access
to
the
same
convenience
iPhone
users
have
had
for
years:
the
ability
to
tap
their
phone
or
watch
on
a
smart
door
lock
to
unlock
it.
No
more
messing
with
keys
or
unlocking
your
phone
and
opening
an
app;
your
phone
becomes
your
key.
This
week, Samsung
announced it’s
adopting
the
new Aliro
smart
lock
standard for
Samsung
Wallet’s
Digital
Home
Key.
This
will
enable
tap-to-unlock
and
hands-free
unlocking
for
any
compatible
door
locks.
Currently,
you
can
add
a
digital
key
for
a
smart
lock
to
your
Samsung
wallet
and
open
that
to
access
the
lock’s
control
from
your
phone.
With
this
new
function,
you
won’t
need
to
unlock
your
phone
or
access
the
wallet
to
control
the
door;
just
tap
your
phone
or
smartwatch
on
the
lock,
and
it
will
open.
The
tap-to-unlock
function
is
the
same
as
Apple’s
current
Home
Key
feature
—
just
walk
up
to
your
door
and
hold
your
watch
or
phone
up,
and
the
door
unlocks.
It’s
like
using
Apple
Pay
on
your
front
door.
With
this
new
standard,
it
won’t
be
limited
to
iPhones
and
Apple
Watches.
“We’re
adopting
the
Aliro
standard
for
Samsung’s
wallet,
with
Digital
Home
Key
coming
in
2025,”
Mark
Benson,
head
of
Samsung
SmartThings
US,
told
The
Verge
in
an
interview.
He
explained
how
this
will
allow
Galaxy
device
users
to
use
the
Digital
Home
Key
in
the
Samsung
Wallet
to
open
Aliro-compatible
locks
with
a
tap
of
their
phone
or
watch.
“And,
if
they
have
UWB,
you
can
have
the
door
open
automatically,”
he
added.
When
there’s
a
UWB
radio
in
both
the
lock
and
inside
your
mobile
device,
the
two
can
communicate
to
determine
your
precise
location
and
unlock
the
door
as
you
approach
from
outside
the
house,
enabling
a
more
hands-free
experience.
Apple
announced
earlier
this
year
that
it
will
also
support hands-free
unlocking
via
UWB
on
smart
locks
in
Apple
Home.
Apple’s
Home
Key
lets
you
tap
your
phone
or
watch
to
your
door
to
unlock
it.
Samsung
is
bringing
a
similar
capability
to
its
smartphones
and
smartwatches
next
year.Photo
by
Jennifer
Pattison
Tuohy
/
The
Verge
Aliro
is
a
new
standard
for
smart
locks
from
the
Connectivity
Standards
Alliance,
the
organization
behind
the
smart
home
standard
Matter.
As
with
Matter,
Aliro
is
being
developed
by
Apple,
Google,
and
Samsung,
along
with
major
lock
and
chip
manufacturers.
The
first
specification
is
slated
for
release
in
2025
and
will
include
support
for
both
NFC
and
UWB
protocols.
The
NFC
radio
enables
the
tap-to-unlock
feature,
and
UWB
enables
the
hands-free
unlocking.
Crucially,
both
these
protocols
can
work
locally
between
phone
and
lock,
so
no
internet
connection
is
required.
No
smart
locks
work
with
the
Aliro
standard
yet,
as
there
isn’t
a
standard
to
work
with.
But
we’ll
likely
see
them
start
to
arrive
next
year.
With
both
Samsung
and
Apple
committing
to
Aliro,
smart
lock
manufacturers
will
only
need
to
add
support
for
a
single
standard
to
work
with
digital
wallets
on
iPhones
and
Galaxy
phones.
Your
move,
Google.
Original author: Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
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