Genie Smart Lock is shooting for the stars with battery life. The smart lock company aims to not only enable access to unlock and lock doors via Internet, but to also have the smart lock battery life to last for a year before requiring recharging. There are alternatives to Genie Smart Lock, like Lockitron and Unikey, but they do not anticipate pushing the boundaries of battery life like Genie. Lockitron claims their locks pull an average battery life between two and three months.
Smart locks use a Wi-Fi signal to function, and if the smart lock checks for a signal too often, battery life can last as short as two to four weeks.
“Current devices must play a trade-off between the usability of the device (how frequently the device checks for a Wi-Fi signal) and the battery life,” said Joel McAndrew, founder of Genie Smart Lock, according to TechCrunch.
The Genie Smart Lock implements a secondary device that is wired into your home. It communicates with the connected door handle by Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). Home electricity powers the lock’s Wi-Fi needs while the batteries in the door handle power BLE transfers.
McAndrew added, “This efficiency means that the Genie Smart Lock is able to achieve a realistic battery life of 12 months. Users can adjust settings to further increase this battery life if they are happy for the device to scan for a signal less frequently.”
The Genie Smart Lock is a complete replacement door handle, unlike most competitors. Pre-orders are being accepted for $299. Lockitron is taking pre-orders for $179. Unikey’s smart lock is $219.
