This
week,
Yale
launched
its
first
retrofit
smart
door
lock,
the
$129.99
Yale
Approach
with
Wi-Fi.
The
lock
attaches
only
to
the
back
of
your
door,
so
you
don’t
have
to
replace
your
entire
deadbolt
to
get
access
to
smart
features
like
auto-unlock
and
locking
your
door
from
your
phone.
The
Yale
Approach
will
also
work
with
a
new
wireless
Yale
Keypad
($69.99),
with
a
fingerprint-enabled
version
coming
later
this
year.
Also
later
this
year,
Yale
says
the
new
lock
will
have
the
option
of
a
firmware
upgrade
to
add
Matter-over-Thread
connectivity.
Retrofit
locks
are
great
for
renters
who
can’t
swap
out
their
locks
or
for
people
with
nice
door
hardware
who
want
to
keep
the
look
of
their
door
while
still
asking
a
voice
assistant
to
lock
the
front
door
for
them.
According
to
Yale,
the
new
lock
includes
all
the
smart
lock
features
you’d
expect,
including
auto-unlocking,
auto-locking,
and
one-touch
locking
(using
the
keypad).
It
can
be
controlled
through
the
Yale
Access
app,
where
you
can
view
the
lock’s
access
history
and
create
schedules
and
routines.
It
comes
with
a
plug-in
Yale
Connect
module
to
connect
it
to
Wi-Fi,
uses
four
AA
batteries,
and
has
a
battery
life
of
up
to
12
months.
It’s
compatible
with
all
the
major
smart
home
platforms
except
Apple
Home.
The
Yale
Approach
lock
is
available
in
black
or
silver
and
comes
with
a
Yale
Connect
module.
The
Yale
Keypad
is
sold
separately.
It
works
over
Bluetooth
and
has
a
range
of
30
feet.Image:
Yale
Because
it’s
a
retrofit
lock,
you
can
still
use
your
existing
key
to
unlock
the
door,
and
you
can
pair
it
with
the
new
Yale
Keypad
($179.99
for
both
if
you
buy
them
together),
which
can
store
up
to
250
codes.
Ryan
Daviau,
product
manager
at
Yale,
tells
The
Verge
that
the
keypad
will
also
work
with
most
existing
August
smart
locks
(all
except
the
first-
and
second-gen
versions),
which
could
be
handy
if
you’re
looking
to
upgrade
to
a
touchpad
keypad
for
your
August
lock.
When
the
fingerprint
version
arrives,
it
will
bring
biometric
access
to
the
August
locks
for
the
first
time.
The
new
Yale
Keypad
will
work
with
most
existing
August
locks
August
has
long
been
the
leader
in
the
retrofit
lock
space,
but
since
Assa
Abloy
bought
both
August
and
Yale
in
2017,
we’ve
only
seen
a
handful
of
updates
to
the
August
line.
By
contrast,
there
have
been
many
updates
to
the
Yale
line
—
including
a
brand-new
line
of
smart
locks
under
the
Yale
Assure
2
name
with
many
of
August’s
best
features,
such
as
auto-unlock.
Both
August
and
the
US
arm
of
Yale
were
sold
to
Fortune
Brands
last
year,
and
with
the
launch
of
Yale’s
first
retrofit
lock,
plus
the
fact
that
there
hasn’t
been
a
new
August
smart
lock
since
2020,
my
guess
is
we’re
done
seeing
new
hardware
from
August.
I
asked
Daviau
if
August
locks
were
being
actively
developed
and
if
any
new
products
were
coming,
“We’re
always
looking
to
develop
the
line,
but
we
have
no
news
about
new
products,”
he
said.
He
did
confirm
there
are
no
plans
to
support
the
new
interoperability
smart
home
standard
Matter
on
current
August
products.
The
new
Yale
Approach
lock
strongly
resembles
the
$200
August
Smart
Lock
+
Connect
released
in
2017,
and
as
the
Yale
Approach
is
slimmer
and
cheaper,
it’s
clearly
going
to
cannibalize
that
product.
However,
the
flagship
Yves
Béhar-designed
August
Wi-Fi
Smart
Lock
—
The
Verge’s
pick
for
the
best
retrofit
smart
lock
—
is
still
the
smallest,
sleekest
retrofit
lock
you
can
get.
But
you’re
paying
more
for
that
compact
design,
and
its
battery
life
is
very
poor.
Unlike
the
Yale
Approach,
it
does
work
with
Apple
Home.
The
Yale
Assure
with
Wi-Fi
(left)
closely
resembles
the
August
Smart
Lock
+
Connect
retrofit
lock
(right).
But
it
has
a
slimmer
design
and
will
support
Matter
over
Thread.Image:
Yale
and
Image:
August
Daviau
also
said
the
Yale
Approach
will
be
upgraded
to
support
Matter
later
this
year
and
that,
thanks
to
a
currently
dormant
Thread
radio
on
board,
it
will
work
with
Matter
over
Thread.
“If
you
have
a
Thread
Amazon
Echo
or
Google
Home
device,
those
will
talk
to
your
lock
through
Thread
over
Matter,
getting
you
remote
access
that
way,”
says
Daviau.
“But
people
can
choose.
You’ll
get
a
Connect
with
the
lock,
so
you
can
choose
to
connect
that
way
or
with
Matter
later.”
Matter-over-Thread
will
enable
compatibility
with
all
the
major
smart
home
platforms
—
including
Apple
Home,
without
needing
the
Yale
Connect.
With
the
Connect,
the
Yale
Approach
will
work
with
Amazon
Alexa,
Google
Home,
and
Samsung
SmartThings,
but
not
with
Apple
Home.
Despite
its
appeal
as
a
wireless
protocol
for
smart
locks
—
low-power,
low-latency,
a
direct
internet
connection,
so
no
need
for
a
standalone
bridge
or
hub
—
Thread
has
so
far
been
hard
to
find
on
smart
locks.
Schlage
has
the
Encode
Plus,
but
it
doesn’t
(and
won’t)
support
Matter,
Yale
has
a
Thread
module
for
its
older
Assure
Lock
SL
that
works
with
Matter,
and
Nuki
has
a
retrofit
Matter-over-Thread
lock
for
European
locks.
But
none
of
these
have
a
fingerprint
reader.
When
Yale’s
biometric
keypad
arrives,
the
Yale
Approach
will
be
one
of
only
two
Matter-over-Thread
smart
locks
with
biometric
access.
And
it’s
likely
to
be
cheaper
than
the
other
one,
the
$299
Ultraloq
Bolt
Fingerprint
Matter,
which
works
over
Thread
and
is
expected
to
launch
later
this
summer.
The
Verge
will
be
putting
the
new
Yale
Approach
with
Wi-Fi
smart
lock
to
the
test,
so
look
for
a
full
review
shortly.
What
is
Matter?
Matter
is
a
new
smart
home
interoperability
standard
designed
to
provide
a
common
language
for
connected
devices
to
communicate
locally
in
your
home
without
relying
on
a
cloud
connection.
It
is
built
to
be
secure
and
private,
easy
to
set
up,
and
widely
compatible.
Developed
by
Apple,
Amazon,
Google,
and
Samsung
(and
others),
Matter
is
an
open-sourced,
IP-based
connectivity
software
layer
for
smart
home
devices.
It
works
over
Wi-Fi,
ethernet,
and
the
low-power
mesh
networking
protocol
Thread
and
currently
supports
over
20
device
types.
These
include
lighting,
plugs
and
switches,
thermostats,
locks,
security
and
environment
sensors,
refrigerators,
dishwashers,
smoke
alarms,
air
quality
monitors,
and
more.
A
smart
home
gadget
with
the
Matter
logo
can
be
set
up
and
used
with
any
Matter-compatible
ecosystem
via
a
Matter
controller
and
controlled
by
them
simultaneously,
a
feature
called
multi-admin.
Amazon
Alexa,
Google
Home,
Samsung
SmartThings,
and
Apple
Home
are
some
major
smart
home
platforms
supporting
Matter,
along
with
hundreds
of
device
manufacturers.
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