Lockin’s V7 Max smart lock uses remote power, no battery swaps needed

Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. It’s one of the ways we keep the lights on here. Click here for more.

Lockin’s new V7 Max smart lock looks less like a lock and more like a sleek, curved door handle, but the real party trick is what’s happening under the hood.

Lockin says it uses optical wireless, so instead of you swapping AA batteries every few months, a separate “AuraCharge” transmitter beams power to the lock from up to four meters away.

The V7 Max uses an eye-safe optical system to keep its internal lithium battery topped up, meaning you should rarely (if ever) have to think about charging it. If the transmitter cuts out, the lock can still keep running for several hours on its own battery reserve.

Unlike the usual keypad bricks, this thing was designed by former Apple design chief Hartmut Esslinger and looks like a minimalist door handle with integrated sensors and screens.

You get three biometric unlock options: finger vein, palm vein, and 3D facial recognition, all built into the lock’s housing. That’s a step beyond typical fingerprint-only smart locks and should make it harder to spoof.

The V7 Max uses dual external cameras plus an AI layer Lockin calls LockinAI, which can recognize and log deliveries, keep an eye on kids or older family members at the door, and automatically flag noteworthy events.

The lock doubles as a full-on video doorbell with 5-inch touchscreens on both the inside and outside, so you can see who’s there and interact without bolting extra hardware next to your door.

The V7 Max supports Matter, so in theory it should play nice with Google Home, Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, and Samsung SmartThings without a bunch of proprietary hubs.

Lockin plans to open preorders for the V7 Max this month, with shipments expected sometime early this year.

There’s no pricing info yet, but given the design, biometrics, and wireless charging, expect it to land firmly in “premium smart lock” territory.

Kevin Raposo

Kevin is KnowTechie's founder and executive editor. With over 15 years of blogging experience in the tech industry, Kevin has transformed what was once a passion project into a full-blown tech news publication. Shoot him an email at kevin@knowtechie.com.