Comcast has been using its Xfinity brand to penetrate the smart home market using a smart voice-driven TV experience as the hub. Now it's adding partnerships with home security companies for smart locks. In other words, coach potatoes can tell their TVs to lock the front door without getting up. Xfinity's smart home solution now integrates smart locks from Yale. Comcast integrated Yale Locks and Hardware into its "Works with Xfinity" program so that you can remotely lock and unlock doors with the Xfinity Home mobile app, or just use voice commands if they have the latest remote control. Homeowners can also set smart alerts for when the door gets opened, which, as the company noted, is handy for knowing if junior comes home after his curfew. “Smart door locks can be a meaningful home security addition, especially when combined with other IoT devices like cameras," Patti Loyack, a Comcast VP, said in a statement. “Xfinity’s platform gives consumers the ability to manage and control all of their smart devices in one unified experience and we’re excited to give our customers even more choice by integrating the Assure Lock line from Yale.” Comcast's move in the smart home space is interesting. It's competing with Apple, Google, and Amazon, plus legacy players in the home automation space. While the more technical might look for solutions that come from Silicon Valley, average homeowners who might tend to be more TV-centric have an opportunity to get similar results. One caveat: you need a Zigbee module in the Yale lock. Some locks come with the module standard; for others it needs to be added. Another caveat: getting a beer still requires walking to the fridge.
Comcast has integrated Yale Locks and Hardware into its "Works with Xfinity" program so that users can remotely unlock and lock doors with their Xfinity Home app, or use voice commands should the user have the most recent remote control. The company also announced a new partnership with Google to integrate Chromecast functionality in its smart home products.