Kwikset announced the Kevo Convert way back at CES of last year, and now that we’re about a month away from CES 2017 (I know, right?) the company is finally opening up pre-sale orders on its smartlock conversion kit. The system is designed to replace the inside of a standard front door lock, rather than having to change the whole thing outright.
So, why only go halfway? For starters, at $149, it’s considerably cheaper than the standard gen-two Kwikset Kevo, which is currently going for $229 online, after launching this summer. It also means that that you don’t have to mess with the aesthetics of the front of the door, if you’re married to the way that looks.
Otherwise the standard smartlock features mostly apply here. The Kevo Convert unlocks via Bluetooth and will autolock 30 seconds after being unlocked. Users can send electronic keys to guests and lock or unlock from anywhere with an upgrade to Kevo Plus. The kit also works with various other smart home devices like the Ring doorbell and Nest Learning thermostat.
It’s currently up for order exclusively from Home Depot. The timeframe on the Homekit-compatible Kwikset Premis, which also launched at CES, is still TBD.