This could be sweet because I love Apple Home Key, and I had a heck of a time finding a smart lock that supported it while not also completely locking me into the Apple ecosystem:
I tap my watch to open a door, and itās fantastic actually
I use this feature when Iām wearing winter gloves here in Minnesota and/or carrying things in both hands all the time
Most importantly, the tech @fria is highlighting relates to UWB connectivity, so thereās no tapping in the first place. It can precisely calculate the distance between the lock and your phone to unlock the door when youāre merely next to it. This is much more secure than geofencing.
Iād honestly be tempted to swap out my current NFC locks for UWB ones when theyāre released lol
I will admit I am a very pro-āsmartā-tech guy though, as long as the smart devices are not internet connected (which does rule out the majority of smart tech to be fair). If I can do something with Z-Wave or Thread etc. then Iām all over that
Iām not convinced that momentarily taking off a glove or putting a bag down to free a hand is a problem that requires a tech solution to solve, but to each his own.
Both of the articles that fria linked extensively use the term ātapā for this, but I donāt want to argue the semantics of tapping vs having a phone close enough.
In the HA thread here I previously wrote about my āpoor manās geofencingā, where I just have my HA server listen to when my phone connects to my router to determine whether Iām home or not for some HA automations. Itās much more battery friendly on my phone than true geofencing and I believe is more secure if thatās your concern for automatically opening doors (which I personally wouldnāt automate).
Iām going to stick with my lock and key as its always been. Getting reinforced doors and hard to pick locks is enough for most people for their security. Anything digital has or will have vulnerabilities at some point.
I sometimes use it to give ātemporary digital keyā to my trusted neighbor so they can bring my delivered packages inside when Iām away from my house.
All other features are just for convenience to me.