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Ultraloq showcases the first-ever ultra-wideband smart lock at CES 2025

Bolt Mission UWB + NFC installed on a white door.
Ultraloq
The CES 2025 logo.
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Ultraloq showed off two smart locks at CES 2025 — one of which is the first smart lock to ever offer ultra-wideband (UWB) support. The Ultraloq Bolt Mission UWB + NFC uses UWB technology to unlock automatically as you approach your front door. Similar functionality already exists on other smart locks, but UWB should allow the Ultraloq Bolt Mission to be more accurate than the competition.

The Bolt Mission uses technology similar to digital car keys, and Ultraloq says it can track the keyholder’s phone location with “centimeter-level” accuracy. As your phone gets closer to the front door, the Bolt Mission can be programmed to automatically unlock, giving you a hands-free way to get inside. Better yet, because the smart lock can detect both your distance and direction from the front door, it should prevent you from accidentally unlocking the smart lock while inside your home.

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Toss in NFC support for tap-to-unlock functionality, automatic locking, and the use of voice commands via Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Samsung SmartThings, and it’s clear the Ultraloq Bolt Mission UWB + NFC is a well-rounded gadget. It even supports Matter to better integrate with the rest of your smart home.

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You’ll find plenty of security features on the smart lock too, including Builders Hardware Manufacturers Association Level 1 certification for its durability, a weather-resistant IP65 rating, and two-layer 128-bit AES data encryption with AWS integration. In other words, the lock will be hard to bypass both physically and digitally.

The second smart lock at CES 2025 was the Bolt Fingerprint Matter. This is Ultraloq’s first smart lock to support Matter, allowing it to easily sync with the rest of your smart home. It’s not quite as exciting as the other smart lock on display (offering common features like app control and a fingerprint scanner), but it should make a nice addition to homes working with multiple smart home platforms.

Both smart locks are expected to arrive in the first quarter of 2025. The Bolt Fingerprint Matter will cost $199 and the Bolt Mission UWB + NFC will cost $399.

Jon Bitner
Jon Bitner is a writer covering consumer electronics, technology, and gaming. His work has been published on various websites…
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