With its Smart Lock Ultra, Nuki offers a miniaturized version of its excellent connected lock, without compromising on connection and communication functions. Too bad its charging cable is not standard.
Smaller, faster, more powerful and less noisy, this is the list of rather audacious promises of the new Smart Lock Ultra from Nuki, high-end model of the already excellent 4th generation Smart Lock (read our review). It must be said that “on paper”, the Ultra impresses. Let’s start with its size. It is actually much less bulky since it consists of a 57 mm diameter cylinder which brings together all the elements of the lock: the motor, the battery, the electronics and the wireless connection antennas. The Nuki Ultra is Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and Thread compatible. The lock is also compatible with the Matter communication standard which allows it to be controlled from all types of smartphones and home automation platforms (Google Home, Apple Home and Amazon Alexa). And all for a weight of 250 grams. A feat if we compare it to the 4th generation Smart Lock which measures 110 mm high by 60 mm wide, for a weight of 580 grams for the Pro model and 460 grams for the standard model.
Nuki Smart Lock Ultra: an ultra compact lock
Despite its reduced dimensions, the Smart Lock Ultra nevertheless promises to unlock the lock even more quickly, and with less noise, than the previous model thanks to the adoption of a brushless motor (we say brushless in English) which limits the number of mechanical parts such as gears. We find this type of motor on electrically assisted bicycles, for example. We can choose between three cylinder rotation speeds: Insane (which could be translated as insane) will allow you to open a double-turn lock in 1.5 seconds, three times faster than the 4th generation. Standard mode will take 2 seconds, while a standard mode Gentle (“smoothly”) will turn the lock in 3.5 seconds. Why three modes? To choose between speed, autonomy and noise. The faster the mode chosen, the louder it is and the more energy it consumes. And vice versa therefore. Choose according to your needs and the room located near the lock.
According to Nuki, thanks to its lithium polymer battery, the autonomy of its new connected lock can reach 9 months, with Wi-Fi deactivated, and drops to 6 months if Wi-Fi is activated. We also imagine that the autonomy varies a lot depending on the number of locking/unlocking operations carried out during the day, and at what speed. On the charging side, the Smart Lock Ultra has a directly accessible magnetic charging port. Too bad it’s not a standard USB-C port. Remember that you have to remove the battery pack on the previous model, therefore preventing you from using the engine while recharging. We can therefore, provided we have an electrical outlet near the door, recharge the Smart Lock Ultra by keeping it on the door. But we can also remove it from the door to connect it to a charger elsewhere in the house.
Nuki Smart Lock Ultra: cylinder change required
Which brings us to one of the big differences, and perhaps one of the disadvantages, of the Smart Lock Ultra. Given its reduced size, the new model does not attach to the door but directly to the cylinder, which will therefore have to be changed so that the Smart Lock Ultra can attach to it. It will therefore be delivered with a universal cylinder designed to adapt to all doors but which therefore requires changing the key which still allows, as with the 4th generation Smart Lock, to open your door in the traditional way if ever the battery is flat, for example. Too bad, the Smart Lock Ultra will only be delivered with three keys. An ownership card will allow additional keys to be ordered if one wishes to give them to all members of the family, which will add to the already high price of this high-end connected lock.
Obviously, high-end means higher prices. The Nuki Smart Lock Ultra will be offered at 349 euros, a price which, remember, includes the universal cylinder sold alone for 99 euros. It will be available at the beginning of December but those in a hurry can already pre-order it on the manufacturer’s website. That said, if we remove the price of the included cylinder, the lock itself costs 250 euros, or 39 euros less than the 4th generation Smart Lock Pro (289 euros) and 61 euros more than the standard Smart Lock ( 189 euros). Which obviously already raises hopes for an Ultra model that would be able to adapt to an existing cylinder. In any case, a future test will allow us to check if all the promises of the Smart Lock Ultra are kept.