New Smart Home brand Anona are preparing for the release of their debut product later this month, with the Anona Holo WiFi Smart Lock. There’s nothing special about a lock per se, of course, but this is yet another brand that has decided to take the plunge into Matter, with the Holo lock supporting Matter over WiFi.
The Holo is designed to work with North American style deadbolts, and like some locks before it, including the now ageing August range, and the forthcoming Aqara U200, this is a semi retrofit device. Whilst you don’t need to change your lock or the deadbolt for this to work, you do need to remove the existing lock’s thumb turn, and replace it with the Holo. Even though the Holo uses Matter over WiFi, the company claim the lock’s batteries (4 x AA) can last up to eight months in ‘low power’ mode, with standard WiFi mode averaging 4-6 months before a new set of batteries are required. Additionally, the lock doesn’t require a bridge, so it connects directly to your WiFi network for remote access, and Bluetooth for direct connectivity between the lock and your phone. The Holo also has auto lock functionality as part of its system.
Due to the retrofit nature of the lock, it does also mean that you get to keep your original keys, and the outside portion of the lock doesn’t give the game away as to your lock being smart at all, unless you also opt for the Anona Keypad, which is currently only offered in the one finish – Obsidian Grey. As the keypad is the only part of the lock kit that is used outside, it does come with an IP65 waterproof rating, with screws or stickers to hold the device in place. The keypad has illuminated buttons, and features both lock and unlock buttons in addition to the standard numerical keys.
The keypad also features the generally standard ‘anti-peeping’ feature that allows you to add random digits before and after your actual 6-digit passcode (up to 50), to baffle ‘nosey parkers’. As with other keypad-based locks, you also get options to set permanent or temporary access, via the company’s own app. You can also lock potential chancers out with ‘wrong password protection’ that secures the lock against any unwanted access for a custom period, whilst also notifying you via the app of suspicious access attempts.
The keypad connects to the lock using the latest version of bluetooth – v5.3, with the keypad running on three provided AA batteries, and comes complete with screws, rawl plugs, and a wall bracket.
Of course, the inevitable question of Apple HomeKey has to be broached, and at the time of writing, there seems to be no mention of this, which whilst unfortunate, does mean the lock is keenly priced at just US$89.99 for the lock, with the keypad selling for an additional US$39.99. You can check out the company’s website for more information.
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