August Home announced on Thursday, July 28, that its Smart Lock now features support for Amazon Alexa, which allows users to lock their front door using their voice.
This partnership makes the August Smart Lock the first product of its kind to support an Alexa skill.
"As the first smart lock to support Alexa-enabled devices such as Amazon Echo, we are giving consumers a whole new level of convenience with a hands-free way to control the front door," Jason Johnson, CEO of August Home Inc., said in a press release. "Amazon Echo and other Alexa-enabled devices have captivated consumers with the ability to integrate voice into the smart home. We share Amazon's vision of delighting consumers with awesome experiences."
The Alexa app now includes the August Smart Lock skill that allows users to lock their door remotely using just their voice, which is ideal when, say, the user just hops into bed and doesn't want to get back up to make sure they locked the door.
"We're excited to work with August to expand our smart home capabilities by launching an Alexa skill for Smart Lock, the first ever Alexa-enabled Smart Lock," said Charlie Kindel, director of Amazon Alexa Smart Home. "The Alexa smart home category has been tremendously popular with our customers, and continues to grow with great developers such as August introducing new Alexa capabilities, showcasing the benefit of hands-free, voice control throughout the home."
Customers with a first- or second-generation August Smart Lock and an Alexa-enabled device will be able to use Amazon's voice assistant; however, they will also need the August Connect accessory that acts as a Wi-Fi bridge to connect and lock to their internet connection, which retails for $79.
By using the skill, the users can say things like, "Alexa, ask August if the front door is locked."
However, users won't be able to give give the magic word to allow access inside. They won't be able to give commands like, "Alexa, open the door." This is because there could be a security risk if it was possible for anyone to just use their voice to have the smart lock unlocked.
The August Connect, along with the smart lock, can now be purchased using Alexa on its supported devices.
Johnson also revealed that Alexa support for the August Smart Lock is only the first announcement in an ongoing relationship the company will have with Amazon.
