Smart door locks are key to modern home security. We review the Samsung A30 & Nuki Smart Lock 2.0.

We look at two very clever door locks by Samsung and Nuki Smart Lock 2.0

Samsung A30 smart door lock

Our smart homes are evolving dramatically, whether it is a simple lampshade with a connected bulb or the voice assistants in various rooms of the house. We’re doing more with less touch in the hope of making life simpler. One area that is starting to open up is the smart door locks and there are a number of ways this is being addressed. Replacing that key you carry has a long list of benefits and convenience you won’t realise until you try one.

Samsung A30 ($569)

Allocating a temporary PIN with the Samsung A30 smart lock.

If you thought Samsung had enough products for our homes already, here is one more. The Samsung A30 is their latest offering for your front door. Priced at $569, this dead-bolt controller can be installed yourself and has a unit for the front and back of the door. The front offers a touch pad for entering a PIN and it also has a fingerprint sensor. Beyond those two ways of opening the door, you also have a companion app for Apple and Android smartphones as well as integration with the Google or Amazon voice assistants.

If you have a cleaner that attends your home, you could set a dedicated PIN for them, enable it for certain days and receive notifications when it is used. If you operate an Airbnb you could issue a temporary PIN that expires after their stay. All of this is controllable remotely and can be removed at any time.

If you’re at home and someone you’re expecting comes to the door, you can ask your voice assistant to unlock the door and let them in. If you’re running late for your guests you can unlock the door to let them in. With a real-time log of who has used the door and when, you’ll be able to receive a notification when the kids arrive home from school.

The A30 can store up to 50 fingerprints and 50 PIN codes, all of which can be managed from your smartphone. Using two AA batteries Samsung expects between 12 – 18 months of use before they’ll need replacing. One obvious part missing from the design here is no physical handle to use when pulling the door shut. You need to keep your existing door handle and only replace the deadbolt. For Apple users, you can use the app on your iPhone, however the A30 does not have Apple HomeKit integration so Siri won’t play nice with your door.

Nuki Smart Lock 2.0 (from $419)

Nuki Smart Lock 2.0.

If you’re nervous about removing the existing lock or perhaps you rent and can’t make changes like this, Nuki is your next option. The Nuki starts at $419 and is a unit which installs to the back of your door and connects onto an existing deadbolt. The unit installs on top of the existing lock, with the key in the barrel.

Nuki comes with two backing plates to ensure it fits different dead-bolt installations that currently exist. The installation is extremely simple and can be removed and taken with you to another property without any hassle. Once installed you can open the door using your smartphone or smart watch, the Apple, Google or Amazon voice assistant, a proximity sensor, a key fob, and even a separate PIN pad.

The Nuki system comes without some of these accessories as standard and you can add things like a key fob should you find that easier for your kids who don’t have a smartphone. A door sensor tells you if your door is locked and if it is closed.

Smartlock review by Geoff Quattromani

Something we’ve seen with other smart locks is they can eject the dead-bolt but if the door is ajar. There is no notification of that. The proximity sensing is extremely handy when you arrive home with your hands full and the door unlocks on your approach automatically.

The mechanism is a little noisy compared to the Samsung A30, so you won’t be sneaking inside the home undetected. As the Nuki is a unit that retrofits to your existing lock, it also has no exposed handle. It does have HomeKit support, meaning Apple users can unlock the door within their iPhone, Apple Watch, and Apple TV, all with a couple of swipes or by asking Siri.

The humble key could be coming to the end of life, with smart locks providing more secure options and higher levels of convenience. We hope new homes built will consider this in their plans. You can lose your keys, but you can’t lose your fingerprint. The real question is whether the interior decorator of your household will let one of these products be used, when they’re a more bulkier alternative to traditional locks.

Geoff Quattromani is a tech commentator across radio, print, online and television. Check out his podcast “Technology Uncorked” for new information each week.