You won’t be able to actually use the best new HomeKit feature in iOS 18

As we covered last week, iOS 18 includes a few notable changes for the Home app and HomeKit in general. One of those changes is support for hands-free support for unlocking smart locks thanks to Ultra Wideband technology. Unfortunately, and perhaps unsurprisingly, there are no locks on the market that actually offer UWB support.

The Verge today confirmed what many of us had suspected: Yes, you’ll need a new lock with an Ultra Wideband chip inside to take advantage of this new iOS 18 feature. No, there’s no timeline on when to expect the first UWB-enabled smart locks to hit the market.

I spoke to several smart lock manufacturers following Apple’s announcement, and they all confirmed that their existing locks do not support UWB. This includes Aqara, U-tec, Yale, August, Level, Lockly, and SwitchBot. (Schlage did not respond.) 

Almost universally, the manufacturers I talked to said they were exploring potentially incorporating the tech, but only U-tec said it had a UWB lock in development. Clark Ruan, VP of U-tec, told me the next-gen Ultraloq smart lock will support UWB and is estimated to arrive in Q4 of this year.

This feature builds upon Apple’s existing support for Home Key smart locks. Currently, Home Key is built on NFC technology, allowing users to unlock their door by tapping their iPhone or Apple on the smart lock. The idea is that UWB support will make the process truly hands-free, using proximity to automatically lock and unlock doors as you arrive and depart.

Apple started including the Ultra Wideband chip with the iPhone 11, allowing for better nearby interaction between an iPhone and other devices equipped with UWB technology.

Once widely available, hands-free unlock for HomeKit smart locks sounds like an incredibly useful feature. The big question, however, is when the first locks with Ultra Wideband technology will actually be available for purchase. And right now, it doesn’t sound like that’ll happen anytime soon.

The best Home Key locks

• Aqara Smart Lock U100
• Level Lock+ Connect
• Schlage Encode Plus
• Aqara Smart Lock U50