Your Apple Watch can now control your August Smart Lock, all on its own
Unlocking a smart lock is part of the fun — your phone acts as the key and unlocks the door through a code or by just tapping into the smartphone app. August Smart Locks also has a feature called Auto-Lock — which unlocks your door if you're within 20 to 30 feet of your home.
Now August is adding the Apple Watch to those options — letting anyone unlock a door armed with an August Lock through the smartwatch, even if their iPhone isn't on them.
The August Apple Watch app is new — and works with any generation Apple Watch and August Smart Lock from the August Smart Lock to the August Smart Lock Pro, says the company. But only the owner of the lock can use the app — you're not passing this feature along to someone through an Airbnb rental, for example. Instead, the feature is meant to make it easier for those who aren't prone to tethering themselves to their iPhones, if they're visiting the neighbors, for example, or walking the dog or heading out for a jog.
If you're feeling generous, and want to upgrade a guest so they can use the Apple Watch app, you need to change their status to owner. That's easily done into August App. But be aware of what you're granting them — such as the ability to invite other guests and owners, view activity feeds and and the ability to control the lock's settings. (Just something to keep in mind.)
Even from the Apple Watch's tiny real estate, you can scroll through multiple locks in your app, or just select your main lock through the new app. And there's also a shortcut you can add to the main watch face to make it faster to lock and unlock your door.
The new app, live today, requires you're running the August App version 6.7.10 or higher on your iPhone, and also have Watch OS4 or higher on your Apple Watch.