The August Smart Lock is finally ready for a wide U.S., making its commercial debut this week with a price tag of $249.99 at Apple Retail Stores nationwide.
Home automation company August was founded by tech entrepreneur Jason Johnson and industrial designer Yves Behar, and the keyless lock system called August Smart Lock was announced back in May 2013.
More than one year after its announcement, the August Smart Lock is finally ready to go on sale in the U.S., with a little help from Apple.
"We are excited to announce that August and Apple have partnered to make August Smart Locks available for purchase at Apple retail stores in the US. August will be available in stores nationwide for $249.99, beginning this week," reads a company blog post on Tuesday, Oct. 14.
Customers who pre-ordered the gadget from August's website have already started receiving their devices, and the company reports high demand for its smart lock.
"August's online store is backordered due to demand but our manufacturing line is rapidly scaling to fulfill all orders. Customer orders have been shipping since August 25th, in the order they were received. In addition, for pre-order customers (those placing orders on or before August 25th), we are also honoring the original price of $199 which is lower than the retail price of $249.99. Based on recent increases in customer demand, we expect it will take up to 90 days for us to fulfil orders placed today, with many shipping sooner than that. Please note that August does not charge credit cards until your order is ready to ship," the company further explains in its new blog post.
For those unfamiliar with the product, the August Smart Lock consists of an aluminum cylinder that attaches to the back of a door's deadbolt. Once properly installed, this keyless entry system is powered by the August Smart Lock app, available on iTunes, and connects to a user's iPhone via Bluetooth LE.
Users can choose to add multiple locks and multiple homes with the app, as well as invite others and share virtual keys with them. Virtual keys, for instance, can be shared to grant someone permanent authorization to unlock the door, or just access for a limited period of time. Other notable features include the ability to automatically lock the deadbolt after a short amount of time, or to unlock it when an authorized user is approaching.
In other words, August aims to provide a secure solution for locking and unlocking your door, without the need to carry a set of keys around with you. At the same time, the August Smart Lock may not be for everybody, and its $250 price tag may put off some potential buyers.
The August Smart Lock is currently available only for U.S. residents, and can be found at Apple Retail Stores and on the company's website. August aims to expand international distribution "in the near future," but for now the company is focused on serving its U.S customers. To get a better idea of how the August Smart Lock works, check out the video below.
