SwitchBot's new vision keypad brings face ID to the Lock Ultra
SwitchBot unveiled the Lock Ultra at CES 2025 earlier in January as an upgrade from the SwitchBot Lock Pro. Now, the company has announced a new keypad accessory that introduces 3D facial recognition. While face ID in smartlocks is nothing new, SwitchBot Lock Ultra is the industry's first retrofit smartlock with this functionality.
Like with other smartlock keypads, SwitchBot Keypad Vision attaches outside the door while the Lock Ultra controls the lock mechanism from the interior. Both parts are linked via Bluetooth and allow several modes of access, including remote control via the app, auto-unlock via geofencing, voice commands, passcodes, NFC keycards, fingerprint sensing and face unlock. The Lock Ultra costs $139.99 on its own and boasts a Li-ion battery that lasts up to nine months, an aluminum casing and a slightly smaller frame than its predecessor. Since the lock itself is retrofitted, you can also use traditional keys to unlock the door without the additional purchase of the $99 keypad.
SwitchBot is offering the Lock Ultra Vision combo (Lock Ultra + vision keypad) alongside a SwitchBot Hub mini for $249.99. With the hub, the possible access options expand beyond the reach of Bluetooth to link other SwitchBot gadgets and third-party IR devices to your home WiFi network.
Matter support is not included. However, SwitchBot Lock Ultra is Matter-compatible as well as the accompanying vision keypad. To take advantage of this feature, users may be more inclined to get a SwitchBot Hub 3 rather than a mini. The third-gen smart home hub from SwitchBot has a significantly larger footprint than SwitchBot Hub 2 and sports a programmable dial under its display.
The dial on SwitchBot Hub 3 can be programmed to fine-tune lighting and temperature if the necessary gadgets are connected. SwitchBot has listed on the product page that the hub is capable of controlling more than 30 Matter-supported devices over all the major smart home ecosystems including Apple Home, Google Home, Amazon Alexa, Samsung SmartThings and Home Assistant.
SwitchBot Hub 3 supports Homey automations and programmable scenes. There is no mention of Thread support though, so this will not be replacing your Thread border router. Pre-orders of the Hub 3 cost $119.99 and are expected to ship by mid-June.
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