SwitchBot Lock Vision Pro review: bare minimum Apple Home integration
When SwitchBot reached out to ask me to conduct a review of some of its products, I was excited. The company has been releasing increasingly interesting products in recent years, and I was eager to see how they'd integrate with my Apple Home.
The problem is, beyond supporting Matter, SwitchBot doesn't acknowledge Apple's ecosystem as little more than an afterthought. The SwitchBot Lock Vision Pro is a smart lock that shows up in the Home app, but that's the extent of its abilities.
Apple Home users demand accessories that enhance their ecosystem and Switch Bot appears opposed to doing so, even if products like Lock Vision Pro are more than capable. If you're an Apple Home user, I find it difficult to recommend Switch Bot accessories of any kind, especially the Lock Vision Pro.
Switch Bot Lock Vision Pro review: Design and features
The Switch Bot Lock Vision Pro completely replaces the deadbolt in your door. It's a large mechanism that could impact your door handle or other aspects, so measure before you buy.
Switch Bot Lock Vision Pro review: A thick lock to fit all of the features
Installation is simple, but pay attention to how the gasket material is positioned or it could stick out awkwardly. It supports a door thickness of 1.4 inches to 2.2 inches and you'll need at least 1.8 inches from the knob. The inside shows a simple lock mechanism while the outside is a number pad, thumbprint scanner, and scanning area for the palm and face recognition features. Slide the bottom plate down to reveal a physical keyhole. Switch Bot says there are ten unlocking methods: face and palm scanning, fingerprint, keypad, NFC, geofence, app, voice, widget, and key. Three are biometric, four are related to your iPhone, and three are a bit more old-fashioned. I didn't set up NFC fobs or cards, nor did I ever bother with the physical key.
Switch Bot Lock Vision Pro review: biometrics, pin codes, or physical keys
Honestly, a lock having multiple ways to be unlocked feels less secure. I know it provides the user peace of mind in case of one of the other methods failing, but still. I personally would prefer a deadbolt that had only one option to unlock, and that's Apple Home Key. Which, technically, is four ways to unlock if you use Switch Bot's counting method: Siri, NFC, app, and widget. Yes, no physical key would be preferable. However, that isn't this lock and not the audience Switch Bot is trying to target. I've set up fingerprints and pins, but the lack of Home Key support remains the dealbreaker.
Source: AppleInsider · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing