Eufy Announces Lock/Video Doorbell Combo with Palm Recognition

The latter half of 2024 saw Eufy return to HomeKit in dramatic fashion, with the release of indoor and outdoor cameras offering 4K recording. This was all after the company’s first foray into both Matter and Thread, in the shape of the E30 smart lock. Now they’re set to continue this trend with a new device that combines a video doorbell and a lock that also works with Matter over WiFi.

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The FamiLock S3 and S3 Max aren’t the company’s first smart locks or video doorbells, nor are they the first to combine the two, unless you take into account Apple Home compatibility. The Outer portion of both models features all the parts you’d expect of both devices, namely a keypad, mics, a 2K video camera, and a doorbell.

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In addition to these standard features, there’s a very specific type of scanner on top that is able to determine whether to unlock the door, based on certain aspects of the palm of your hands. This scan reportedly identifies vein patterns in your hand along with your fingerprint patterns, although unlike many locks with a fingerprint sensor, there’s no physical contact involved with the lock itself. Eufy claims a 99.99999% accuracy rating for correct identification, which is a bold claim for sure.

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What tops off the max version of this lock is an LED display on the inner portion of the lock to identify people on the outside of your door, which works in tandem with the built-in camera. The standard S3 is the same in every other aspect apart from this built-in display, for which here are the specs;

• Built-In Wi-Fi: Direct Wi-Fi
• Fast Unlocking: Palm Vein Unlocking
• Built-In Video Doorbell
• Cam Resolution: 2K HDR
• Display: 4 inch Display
• Battery Type: 15000mAh+4 x AAA
• Battery Life: 6mo + 1mo(AAA mode)
• Waterproof: IP65
• Auto Lock: Door sensor
• Work with eufy ecosystem: doorbell | cam | Homebase 3
• Work with external ecosystems: Matter | Apple Home | Alexa | GVA
• BHMA: Grade 1

Both S3 models also contain dual motion sensors, although it’s not specified as to whether these are PIR are pixel-based motion sensors. The camera, like their other cameras, has human detection algorithms built into the device. It offers BMHA ANSI Grade 1 certification, and also works with Apple Home, on which note, we’re still in the dark as to whether this offers Apple’s own ‘Manage Access’ feature, that allows you to generate access codes within the Home app. It certainly doesn’t seem to offer Apple HomeKey or the much anticipated UWB (Ultra-Wide Band) feature touted to make an appearance in some locks this year.

As this uses Matter, the camera portion of the video doorbell won’t be exposed due to Matter not yet supporting cameras, although if this is also able to work with Apple Home (not via Matter), the chances of the camera being exposed to HomeKit are slightly better, although still not guaranteed.

Judging by the image of the lock itself, this clearly appears to be for North American type deadbolts, so this is unlikely to go on sale in Europe, generally speaking. The lock should become available in a month’s time, selling for US$349.99 for the S3, and US$399.99 for the S3 Max, with special discounts offered via the company’s website.