Previously best known for its Ultraloq smart entry locks, U-tec announced its expansion into the broader smart home market at CES with U Home, a complete Matter-compatible smart home ecosystem.
Products in the U Home collection range from Wi-Fi mesh-networked smart bulbs to a security camera, an alarm, U-tec’s first Matter-compatible smart lock, and more.
“With U Home,” said U-tec VP Clark Ruan, “users can seamlessly control lighting with a single command and conveniently switch on or off an entire set of lights. Arriving home, the system automatically deactivates surveillance, and switches on lights and your humidifier, offering a warm welcome. A connected smart speaker is ready for voice commands, easily turning off all the devices before bed. U Home delivers an exceptional smart home experience, merging convenience, automation, and security,”
U-tec smart lighting
U-tec
U-tec says its Bright LED smart bulb is the first to feature mesh connectivity over Wi-Fi without needing a hub. Rated at 1,100 lumens compared to the more typical 800-lumen LEDs, these so-called Bright bulbs promise to live up to the name. They are also dimmable and offer palette of 16 million colors. The manufacturer says its smart bulbs will offer features such as simulating the color of sunlight at sunrise and sunset, to help you wake and fall asleep more easily. The bulbs also support IFTTT.
You’ll install one Bright bulb somewhere close to your router, and that bulb will become the “root” for the mesh network. Zigbee-based Philips Hue and Z-Wave networks similarly rely on one device—a hub—to function as a bridge to your Wi-Fi router. But in U-tec’s system, the hub is also a light bulb. Every other Bright bulb you deploy extends the reach of this lighting network by relaying commands to each other. In this way, Bright bulbs don’t place any additional load on your router, because only the root bulb is directly connected to it.
U-tec
U-tec will offer Bright bulbs in A19 and BR30 form factors. If you’d prefer to keep your existing light sources, U-tec is also launching a Matter-compatible in-wall smart dimmer and a smart plug. These devices operate on the same WI-Fi mesh network as U-tec’s new smart bulbs.
Ultraloq Bolt Matter Fingerprint Edition
U-tec
U-tec is also showing its first Matter-compatible smart lock, the Ultraloq Bolt Matter Fingerprint Edition. U-tec says the lock supports Matter Over Thread for seamless integration with Matter-based smart home systems. The deadbolt can be unlocked six different ways, including with a registered fingerprint, a PIN code entered on its circular numeric keypad, with a smartphone app, or a voice command.
The lock is powered by eight alkaline cells, which U-tec says should last a full year.
Less information is available for the other products in the U Home ecosystem. The only thing we know about U-tec’s Ulticam-series security cameras, for example, is that indoor and outdoor models will be available in June and cost from $69 to $149.
And while U-tec announced some other U-Home component prices–$249 for locks, $12.99 for plugs, $22.99 for switches, and $15.99 for light bulbs—its press materials also say, curiously, “Matter version pricing is yet to be determined.” We’ve reached out to U-tec for clarification.
