Yale’s Linus L2 Smart Lock Now Supports Matter

A while back, lock manufacturer Yale released its Linus L2 smart lock for mortice doors, although at that time it didn’t support Apple Home – a strange omission. The good news is that the company has now pushed an update that allows the lock to use Matter over WiFi, via the lock’s built-in WiFi chip.

This of course means that it is now compatible with Apple Home, as well as Samsung SmartThings, where previously it only supported Amazon Alexa, and Google Home.

The Linus L2 update is a bit of good news for European and UK HomeKit users, who until recently have been starved of choice when it comes to a smart lock that works with Apple Home. Nuki has been the foremost option for a while, with Aqara, with its U200 a more recent option (review HERE, Video HERE).

That, unfortunately, is where the good news ends, as unlike the Nuki Smart Lock Ultra, which supports Matter over Thread, and the aforementioned Aqara U200, which supports Matter over Thread and Apple HomeKey, the Linus L2 offers neither. That may not matter (no pun intended) for Android users, but for HomeKit users it’s usually a dealbreaker when it comes to Apple HomeKey.

What does the Linus L2 offer other than offering a solution for mortice locks? It’s retrofit, so that is of importance to renters, and can work with Yale’s own version of an NFC tag, which you stick on the wall near your lock, then tap with your phone to unlock the L2 (android only). This should work just as well as HomeKey in many ways, although being an android only solution does exclude iPhone users. There’s also an optional keypad, and it uses a rechargeable lithium battery.

The Yale Linus L2 is available now on Amazon.co.uk for £219.99, or Amazon.de for €168.68, with the Matter update available via the Yale app.