As of next year, Samsung Galaxy phone or smart watch users will have access to a convenience that iPhone owners have been using for years: They will be able to open their doors by touching their phones or smart watches to the smart door lock. No more fumbling with keys or turning on your phone and launching an app; Your phone will become your door key.
Samsung announced that Samsung Wallet has adopted the new Aliro smart lock standard for its Digital Home Key. In this way, touch-opening and hands-free opening features will be available for compatible door locks.
You can currently control smart door locks from your phone by adding a digital key to your Samsung wallet. However, with this new feature, you will be able to open your door by touching your phone or smart watch to the lock, without having to turn on your phone or access your wallet.
The tap-to-open functionality is identical to Apple’s existing Home Key feature. When you approach the door, you can open it by simply bringing your phone or watch closer to the lock. Think of it as a front-door version of using Apple Pay. With this new standard, this feature will no longer be limited to iPhone and Apple Watch.
“We are adopting the Aliro standard for Samsung Wallet, and Digital Home Key is coming in 2025,” said Mark Benson, President of Samsung SmartThings USA, in an interview with The Verge. Benson explained that Galaxy device users can unlock Aliro-compatible locks by tapping their phone or watch with the Digital Home Key in Samsung Wallet. He also added, “If you have UWB (Ultra Wideband) technology, the door can open automatically.”
When both your lock and your mobile device have a UWB radio, the two devices can communicate with each other to determine exactly where you are and automatically open the door when approaching from outside the house. Earlier this year, Apple also announced that it would support UWB hands-free unlocking for smart locks in Apple Home.
Aliro is a new smart lock standard developed by the Connectivity Standards Alliance, which developed the Matter standard. Like Matter, Aliro is being developed by leading lock and chip manufacturers, as well as Apple, Google and Samsung. The first specification is expected to be released in 2025 and will support NFC and UWB protocols. While NFC provides the touch-to-open feature, UWB enables the hands-free opening function. As an important detail, both protocols can work locally between the phone and the lock, so there is no need for an internet connection.
Besides the Samsung Galaxy series, iPhones also support the Aliro standard
Smart locks that comply with the Aliro standard are not yet on the market because there is no product based on this standard yet. However, these locks are expected to hit the market next year. With both Samsung and Apple announcing their commitment to Aliro, smart lock manufacturers will only need to support a single standard to be compatible with digital wallets on iPhone and Galaxy phones.