August expanded its selection of smart home-access products, added its first Apple Home-Kit-enabled product, and launched August Access service, which lets service personnel enter homes equipped with the August Smart Lock with homeowner permission.
Three new products expand the company’s selection beyond its single Smart Lock, launched a year ago. The new products consist of an Apple Home-Kit-certified Smart Lock, the company’s first video doorbell, and a keypad.
The service providers participating in an August Access beta are Sears, Postmates, Pro.com, Handy, Fetch, Shyp, BloomNation, Envoy, Rinse, HelloAlfred, Wag, Pillow, and Doorman. The companies provide home repair, delivery, shipping, cleaning, elderly care, dog walking and other services. Smart Lock owners can use August Access at no extra charge.
Via August’s app, consumers will select an approved partner and request a service. Customers provide a unique, one-time key code or virtual key to service providers so they can enter, and the consumer will be alerted via their app when service providers enter or exit the home.
“By teaming up with August, we provide our members with the ability to securely open their doors to our trusted technicians — without having to be home or worry about appointment windows,” said Ryan Ciovacco, president of consumer electronics and connected solutions for Sears Holdings.
Start-up August said consumers will be “informed every step of the way with real time notifications,” and they can use one of August’s new products, the $199 August Doorbell Cam, to see who is at the door and speak to them before providing remote access.
The company’s other new products are the $79 Smart Keypad and $229 HomeKit-enabled Smart Lock, which joins the current $199 Smart Lock. The trio is available for pre-order today on August.com, BestBuy.com and Amazon.com. Select products will also be available from Apple. The products will be available in six to eight weeks.
The HomeKit-enabled Smart Lock delivers Siri control of locking, unlocking and status checking. The August Smart Keypad works alongside the battery-operated Smart Lock to enable access without using a smartphone. Unique codes are auto-generated for one-time use or for regular use by friends, family or service providers. The August Doorbell Cam, equipped with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth LE, lets users see and speak with visitors at the door from anywhere via one-way 140-degree HD video camera and two-way audio.
Motion detection captures images of visitors even if they don’t ring the bell.
Through the August app, customers can view a livestream, receive instant notifications when motion is detected, communicate via audio, and buzz visitors in via the August Smart Lock.
