Google Finally Supports the Hands-Free Smart Lock Standard It Helped Build

Congratulations to specific Google Pixel owners: Google announced this week it has finally added support for hands-free unlocking with compatible smart locks and Android phones. Google says the feature is available now in the Google Home app public beta and will be “rolling out to everyone over the coming weeks.” This “Unlock on Approach” feature uses your Android phone’s UWB radio and a relatively new smart lock standard called Aliro. It does what it says: with the right combo of smart home devices and smartphone, your smart lock will automatically unlock as you approach it, as long as you have an Aliro UWB-compatible device on your person. The standard was developed by the Connectivity Standards Alliance, which created the universal smart home standard Matter, which Google is a part of. You can check out my experiences using it in my reviews of the U400 and the Schlage Sense Pro, but to summarize: it kicks ass, and I never want to go back. A prompt during Google Home smart lock setup lets you add a digital home key. © Google To use Unlock on Approach, you’ll need a compatible smart lock, an “Aliro Ultra-Wideband (UWB) compatible Android phone,” and a Thread border router such as Nest Hub (2nd gen), Nest Hub Max, Nest Wifi Pro, or Google TV Streamer. You’ll also want to make sure you’ve updated the Google Home and Google Wallet apps. If you don’t have an Android phone with an Aliro-capable UWB radio, you should still be able to use NFC, which requires holding your phone very close to the lock, like you might when using tap-to-pay. According to Google, when you add an Aliro-compatible smart lock to the Google Home app, it will prompt you to add a digital home key to the Google Wallet app. You can also add a key later by going to Home settings in Google Home, then Google Wallet. Others you’ve added to Google Home should be able to do the same. Until now, only iPhone and Apple Home users have been able to take advantage of this feature, which first debuted in the Aqara Smart Lock U400 early this year. Now, Google says Pixel 10 Pro and up devices can use Unlock on Approach, but Wear OS smartwatches are not supported at launch. Samsung announced in March that it would be adding it to its own devices, but so far, it seems like that hasn’t actually happened yet.