Level Home introduces Level Touch, a sleek smart lock that doesn’t advertise its intelligence – TechCrunch

The hardware startup level presented its first product earlier this year and now they are already following it with a brand new Smart Lock. The original Level Lock broke new ground in the Smart Lock category with an invisible design that works with a number of standard doors and existing external bolt fittings, but with the new one Level touch is the complete package with Levels own thumb and outer key plate – and improved internals that add new intelligent functions to the mix.

The new Level Touch is available today directly on Level’s own website and costs $ 329. In return, you get a smart lock that comes in a variety of styles including Satin Chrome, Satin Nickel, Polished Brass and Matt Black. This includes the smartphone control for locking and unlocking as well as the optional automatic geofenced unlocking. Unlock and programmable NFC-based keys that allow you to easily grant and revoke access when needed.

With this new product, the hardware design chops of the former Apple team at Level are fully displayed. The exterior design is definitely the most elegant and subtle smart lock there is on the market – it even lacks levels of its own branding, with the exception of the smartly placed logo at the very end of the bolt itself (which doubles as a CR2 battery compartment for the lock), Speaking of which). It’s a fantastic looking product that should blend seamlessly into any decor thanks to the various finishing options.

This is a huge improvement over most smart locks that wear their smarts on their sleeves with either huge keyboards or bulky gymnasts that house all of the smart components. Level’s approach here builds on what was created with the Level Lock, which houses intelligent housings in the door – but adds new capacitive surfaces that make the entire lock touch-sensitive for added convenience. For example, you can touch to lock, which makes it really easy to lock your door on the way out, and touch to touch when you have your smartphone in your pocket for added security.

In the box you will also find two NFC-enabled key cards that can be programmed with access to your Level Touch (or more than one). Programming is as simple as tapping your phone on the maps when prompted in the Level app, and you can remotely revoke access to the maps whenever you need to. The NFC built into the locks can be used with any programmable NFC device, so you can create your own keys using the readily available, inexpensive tags that you can also pick up from Amazon.

According to Level, you can get a battery life of over a year from a single standard CR2 battery. Only a Phillips screwdriver is required for installation. HomeKit is also enabled for Siri voice control and other smart home automation functions.

We’re going to take the Level Touch a test drive to see if it lives up to how it looks on paper. However, this is a hardware startup that is clearly thinking about how to better integrate smart home devices into our daily lives.