Schlage’s latest smart lock makes unlocking your door as easy as using Apple Pay

We have been able to use smart locks for a long time to ditch the keys and open our doors. While smart locks can be quite convenient, using your phone to open the door can be as cumbersome as fumbling for the right key in the dark. To get your phone unlocked, you have to pull out your phone, find the right app, tap the unlock button, and wait for the lock to respond.

Schlage's new $299.99 Encode Plus, which was announced earlier this year and is now available for purchase, simplifies that greatly. The Encode Plus is one of the first smart locks to take advantage of Apple's Home Key standard and can be unlocked with a tap of your phone or watch. You don't need to open an app, tap a button, or even have your phone unlocked. The process is similar to buying something with Apple Pay.

HomeKit video doorbells are not exclusive to Apple devices. The Schlage app allows it to be used with both Amazon's and Google's assistants. It has a pin pad for guests or those in your family without phones.

If you're going to shell out three bucks for a smart lock, you should use an Apple Watch or an iPhone because it's the best trick.

Buy for $299.99 from Home Depot

The design of the Encode Plus is very similar to the previous Schlage Encode locks. The one notable difference between this one and prior versions are the parentheses around the 5 button that indicate where to tap your phone or watch. It's not particularly subtle, but it's far from the ugliest smart lock I've seen.

There are two different styles of the Encode Plus, one of which is the Century design with a nickel finish. If the batteries ever die and you're locked out, the barrel below the keypad can be used as a traditional key. The primary way to use the Encode Plus is via the phone.

The back of the lock is larger and blockier than the front. Schlage says the lock can last up to six months if you use it with Thread and up to a year if you use it on wi-fi. I have been testing the lock on my primary entrance for nearly two months, and the Apple Home app says it has over 80 percent battery life remaining. When the batteries are low, the lock will send an alert to your phone. The battery life reporting system might be thrown off by the voltages of the batteries.

If you have kids who don't have phones or Apple Watches of their own, the only hardware feature missing is a fingerprint scanner, which is a little easier to use than a keypad and can be useful. We have had one in the time I have been testing the lock.

It takes about 15 minutes to install the lock, with aPhillips screwdriver. My front door is old and doesn't line up perfectly when you close it, something that has tripped up motorized door locks in the past. The Encode's deadbolt has a slight taper on each side, which helped guide it closed when the motor turned the lock, and made up for my door's poor alignment.

You can hear the motor's noise when it locks or unlocks the door. Soft chimes accompany the action to let you know if it has gone well or not. Fortunately, it isn't loud and it doesn't have an annoying grinding noise like some of the older smart locks.

You don't need to download Schlage's app to use the Encode Plus with an Apple device. You can add the lock right to the Home app on your phone or use automations to control it. If you have an Apple TV 4K or a HomePod Mini, the Encode Plus will connect over the Thread protocol. If not, it will connect to your other devices using wi-fi and Bluetooth.

Concerns about how the data they collect is protected are brought about by bringing connected devices into your home. The company whose smart home products we review has safeguards in place for your data.

Schlage collects information about users when they create an account, according to the company. It automatically gathers data such as location, browser type, referring URL, device ID, the mobile platform, SDK version, timestamp, and application version. The terms of service and privacy policy outlines what the company does with the data.

Schlage says it uses industry-accepted encryption standards. Personal data will be deleted when users uninstall their Schlage Home account. Users can request that their data be deleted by filling out a web form,mailing the company, or calling a phone number.

Adding the lock to the Home app will add the Home Key card to your phone and Apple Watch, as well as anyone else that you have added to your Home. The Express Mode will allow you to use the key card without having to unlock your phone or watch. You're in if you tap it against the front of the lock. If you want to have an extra layer of security, you'll need to unlocked your phone before it unlocks the door.

Getting accustomed to Home Key is very easy if you have ever used Apple Pay. Since my phone is almost always in my hand when I go to the house, I don't have to worry about opening an app or keys, I just tap it to the lock. I can lock the door with a tap on the phone or with a small lock button on the lower right of the keypad. It's the simplest way I've interacted with a smart lock outside of automations.

The Apple Watch integration works just as well, but it's a bit more awkward because I have to twist my arm around to get to the front of the lock. The Watch integration is helpful if you have your phone in your bag.

You can program guest codes for other family members in the Home app. There is no option to make this function limited to a specific time block or give it an expiration date, but you can name the guest and set up a code. You can remove access by removing the guest from the Home app.

You can set up various automations to lock or unlocked the door with the Encode Plus integration into the Home app. You can set up rules that will automatically lock orunlock the door when you leave or arrive.

The Home app can be used to control the lock over a Thread connection. When I pushed the button in the app, the door latched before I even looked up.

The Schlage app can be used to set the door to lock automatically after a certain time period. It allows the lock to be connected to a platform that will control it. While the Schlage app is not required for iPhone owners, they will need to use it to control the lock on their phone. Once the lock is set up, owners of the phone can control it through the apps of their choice.

The Encode Plus is on the expensive side of the smart lock spectrum, but it provides the best experience I have had with a smart lock, especially if you own one.

Dan Seifert is a photographer.

Every smart device now requires you to agree to a series of terms and conditions before you can use it. It is impossible for us to read and analyze all of these agreements. We started counting how many times you have to agree to use devices when we review them.

You don't need to agree to any other terms of service or privacy policies if you use the Schlage Encode Plus with HomeKit and the Apple Home app.

You must agree to the Schlage Terms of Service and Privacy Policy if you use the Schlage Home app to control the Encode Plus.