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Apple HomeKit and Face Recognition: Lockly Announces New Feature-Packed Smart Locks

Lockly's Zeno series is a line of compact smart locks that sound especially appealing for Apple fans.

Headshot of Tyler Lacoma
Headshot of Tyler Lacoma
Tyler Lacoma Editor / Home Security and Smart Home
Tyler has worked on, lived with and tested all types of smart home and security technology for over a dozen years, explaining the latest features, privacy tricks, and top recommendations. With degrees in Business Management, Literature and Technical Writing, Tyler takes every opportunity to play with the latest AI technology, push smart devices to their limits and occasionally throw cameras off his roof, all to find the best devices to trust in your life. He always checks with the renters (and pets) in his life to see what smart products can work for everyone, in every living situation. Living in beautiful Bend, Oregon gives Tyler plenty of opportunities to test the latest tech in every kind of weather and temperature. But when not at work, he can be found hiking the trails, trying out a new food recipe for his loved ones, keeping up on his favorite reading, or gaming with good friends.
Expertise Smart home | Smart security | Home tech | Energy savings | A/V
Tyler Lacoma
2 min read
A Lockly Zeno lock mounted to a open, gray door.

Lockly's new smart locks include a lot of Apple compatibility and an option for face recognition.

Lockly

There's a new series of smart locks in town, and they're more compact than ever: Lockly's Zeno series is here, with low-profile, high-end smart locks that extend built-in compatibility to Apple HomeKit and Apple's Home Keys, something we always like to see. Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa support are included as well, but it's the extra features on these locks that caught our eye.

The flagship model, aka the Lockly Visage, is the clear standout here. Lockly reports that it's reduced the size of its locks by as much as 35% with this new line, and while the Visage is the largest model, it still manages to keep a low profile. The Visage also offers an impressive number of features, including keypad access, fingerprint scanning, Bluetooth, built-in Wi-Fi (no need for a hub) -- and facial recognition, a trend we've seen continue to grow in the home security sector.

That's as many access options as we've seen in a smart lock (albeit there's no palm-reading technology), and the latest hands-free options sound promising as long as you don't mind sharing face profiles. The locks also feature Lockly's rotating keypad system, so people can't memorize your door code simply by where you press.

The other locks in the Zeno series, such as the PIN Genie Pro and the Secure Pro, skip the face recognition but still offer Apple HomeKit and Home Key compatibility in even smaller models. The Lockly Vision, meanwhile, takes things in a different direction, with a combination smart deadbolt and 2K front door camera that includes two-way audio.

The many options of the Zeno series come with a catch: They aren't cheap. The face-recognizing Visage is available at $350, while the camera combo Vision costs $430. That's some serious investment for front door security. You can find these locks online at Lockly's website as well as Home Depot, which has an exclusive hold on the Lockly Vision for now. We're currently testing the Lockly Visage and hope to have a complete review out soon to show you just what to expect. To compare, we suggest you visit our lists for the best cheap video doorbells and best smart locks.