One of the advantages of smart locks is that you can open them remotely from your smart phone or smart lock. But what happens if you're physically unable to do so, and you need help?
Kwikset today announced a partnership with FallCall Solutions which will help first responders more easily gain entry to a person's home in the event of an emergency.
If a person is wearing an Apple Watch with the FallCall Detect or FallCall Lite app installed, the app will automatically contact emergency services if the watch detects that the wearer has fallen.
Now, if an ambulance is dispatched to the person, the FallCall app will then send a signal to that person's Kwikset smart lock to unlock the door, which not only saves time but also can potentially prevent property damage from a door having to be forcibly opened.
However, you need a few gadgets to make this all work. For starters, you'll need an Apple Watch with fall detection — the Apple Watch SE or Apple Watch Series 4 or later — as well as a Kwikset Halo smart lock (currently on sale for $165 at Amazon).
You'll also need to subscribe to FallCall's monitoring service, which costs $14.99-$19.99 for its "Lite" service, and $17.99-$20.99 for its full-featured service, which includes the ability to fine-tune fall detection, as well as crash detection.
The built-in fall detection on the Apple Watch will already call emergency services for you and send a message to your emergency contacts — all without you having to pay for a subscription — but having the FallCall app automatically unlock your door is a nice extra feature in a situation where every second counts.
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