ASSA ABLOY acquires Level Lock, creates new Ambient Property Technologies subsidiary

AppleInsider

The Level Lock company and brand have been acquired by ASSA ABLOY, a global leader in access solutions. Level M will now operate as a separate entity under the name Ambient Property Technologies.

Level Lock+

Fans of Apple HomeKit-compatible products have likely heard of Level Lock thanks to their excellent smart locks. The company has been acquired by ASSA ABLOY, which is responsible for many access points you've likely encountered at work or in hotels.

The acquisition is a total takeover that leaves Level Lock as a separate subsidiary. The standalone entity will take on the new name Ambient Property Technologies, which will focus on delivering the next-generation platform to multifamily customers.

"I am very pleased to welcome Level Lock into the ASSA ABLOY Group," says Nico Delvaux, President and CEO of ASSA ABLOY. "This acquisition is an exciting technological addition to the ASSA ABLOY Group and will provide complementary growth opportunities."

Level Lock produces smart locks that appear identical to a standard deadbolt packed with technology. The latest Level Lock+ boasts Apple Home Key support and received a perfect score from AppleInsider.

Since this is a total acquisition that won't eliminate the business or its operations, users should be able to continue using their existing products without interruption or issue.



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djr12

My Level Lock is easily the best smart lock I’ve owned. But I’m assuming that, as with most acquisitions, the new owners will ruin what made them good. 

ihatescreennames

Maybe the new owners will actually turn on the Thread radio so my Level Lock+ isn’t so slow to respond via Siri or the Home app that I get a time out message before the lock actually does something (if it actually responds). 

It works great with my Apple Watch and the key cards but not so much with voice or automations. 

My LL+ is in my garage with 2 Eve roller shades that are Thread enabled. The shades work great and quickly. If they turn on the Thread radio in the lock I think performance will improve greatly. C’mon and issue that firmware update!

22july2013

Most cars costing over $20,000 come with remote unlocking abilities, (some even come with auto-opening and auto-closing doors) but homes can cost $200,000 or more and they still don't come with any smart tech.

mattinoz

djr12 said:

My Level Lock is easily the best smart lock I’ve owned. But I’m assuming that, as with most acquisitions, the new owners will ruin what made them good. 

Potential but this is a company that has been keen to buy disrupters in the past to get ahead while their competitors have fought against change. 

freeassociate2

I think that the article misses a very important point: Assa Abloy also owns Yale, which has owned August Locks for awhile now (and there’s been some crossover in technology between the two).

This means that the two main indie smart lock companies (ones that weren’t standard lock makers previously) are now Assa Abloy assets.

Report on that maybe, instead of regurgitating a PR brief?

Full Disclosure: I own a full August system — cameras, lock-assists (paired with Schlage 500 series deadbolts), sensors, keypads, and hubs. It’s a good, dependable system that plays nice with HomeKit. Rechargeable batteries last a long time in our locks and keypad — which has performed admirably during New England Winters.

However, I’ll say that since the Yale acquisition, August’s innovations and integrations seem to have stalled, while prices rose substantially. 

phaseangle

Yes over here in Australia they bought Lockwood back in 1999. They were the top domestic lock maker in Australia so they still use the branding for all the Yale products here.

ecarlseen

Has any third-party done a security audit on these devices?

Just about any time someone makes a serious attempt to hack a "smart" lock, the results have been flat-out embarrassing. One can argue that many residential locks are easily picked (true), but lock-picking is a skill that takes a good deal of time and patience to develop and most criminals don't bother. Once a hack has been created for a "smart" lock, though, it can be turned into an app or small inexpensive device and sold on the black market.

Yes, it's possible to harden systems like this, but hardening is expensive because it requires a great deal of time and attention from highly-skilled engineers and so few (if any) companies will bother. Even if they want to, there aren't a lot of these highly-skilled engineers around and they have to bid against the tech titans for their services.

Those of us who played cyberpunk videogames ages ago where you could go buy a door unlock tool for $100 or whatever are going to see fiction become reality. Personally, I stick to reasonably high-quality mechanical locks. Coincidentally, ASSA ABLOY has a pretty good reputation in that space. Part of me hopes they'll put that level of care into their digital locks, but in today's world of MBA-run businesses it's hard to see that happening.