EMPowered 2 Touch

The EMPowered 2 Touch is Emtek’s motorised deadbolt, and it is aimed at a buyer most smart locks ignore: somebody who cares what the door furniture looks like. Emtek is an architectural hardware brand, so the lock is sold in finishes such as unlacquered brass that are meant to age, and it matches the rest of an Emtek handle set.

Emtek belongs to ASSA ABLOY, which also owns Yale. That is why the lock is managed in the Yale Access app rather than an app of its own.

What works in Apple Home

• Lock and unlock the door from the Home app, and see the current state.
• Get a notification on every lock and unlock event.
• Use the lock in scenes and automations, and control it with Siri.

Siri asks you to authenticate before it unlocks the door. That is how Apple Home treats every lock, and it is not a limitation of this model.

The Bluetooth and Wi-Fi choice

Every EMPowered 2 has Bluetooth, and a Wi-Fi version is available. The important detail is the reverse of what you might expect: the Bluetooth models work with Apple Home but not with the other partner platforms, while the Wi-Fi models work with all of them.

If Apple Home is the only ecosystem you use, the cheaper Bluetooth model loses you nothing except remote access when away from the door.

Ways in

A backlit capacitive touchscreen keypad, a fingerprint reader that reads in under half a second, and the Yale Access app. Auto-Lock with DoorSense knows whether the door is actually shut before it throws the bolt, which stops the common failure of a lock driving its bolt into an open frame.

Keyed and key-free versions are sold, so decide early whether you want a cylinder at all.

Specifications