August's smart door locks now respond to your voice

You can now unlock your August Smart Lock using just your voice. — AFP Relaxnews

On Oct 30, August announced an assortment of new features coming to both the Smart Lock and Doorbell Cam Pro.

With Halloween – a day when your front door probably sees more visitors than any other time of the year – right around the corner, August recently introduced new Smart Lock and Doorbell Cam Pro features that "let you see and hear all the events of the night – spooky or not!"

The update for the August Smart Lock is simple, but practical. If you have a Connect WiFi Bridge for the device, you can unlock the front door using your voice via Siri, Alexa, or Google Assistant. For example, all you have to say is, "Hey Google, unlock the front door", tell it your security code when it asks and voilà, your door is unlocked.

The August Doorbell Cam Pro on the other hand, found its own voice – or rather Amazon Alexa's voice, again thanks to the Connect WiFi Bridge. Considering that the camera previously lacked a voice assistant entirely, this is a major upgrade.

When your doorbell rings, Alexa will alert you by saying, "Someone is at the front door" or something more unique like playing music or making your lights flicker a certain way if you prefer. "Just imagine – Monster Mash plays each time a witch rings your doorbell or spooky lights flicker on and off as s/he steps up to your front door," suggested the August blog.

Google Assistant can also announce when your doorbell is rung, via your Google Home devices.

The "If this..., then that..." automations that the August Smart Lock Pro has supported for a while now in lock and unlock situations have been extended to the Smart Doorbell cams. You will be able to create an unlimited number of automations for when someone rings your doorbell or when motion is detected, which can be integrated with your other smart home devices (lights, music systems) or phone.

Find out how to enable and customise these new features on the August website. – AFP Relaxnews