Nuki teases a contactless entry upgrade for its easy-to-install Smart Lock

Anybody can open a lock with a key, but a good smart lock offers multiple, independent ways for users to authenticate and gain access. Those can include setting up an account and installing an app, keying in a door code, or even using biometrics like a fingerprint. The Nuki Smart Lock already supports methods like those, and this week the company’s teasing an additional one that will soon become possible thanks to the launch of a new accessory.

Nuki’s Smart Lock natively supports some pretty clever unlock modes, like combining Bluetooth with GPS geofencing to automatically unlock your door when you return home. And with the addition of the optional Keypad 2 accessory, you’ve been able to unlock the Smart Lock without your phone at all, entering a code or using your fingerprint. And now Nuki shares that it’s planning to upgrade its lineup with the Keypad 2 NFC.

The company plans to formally introduce the Keypad 2 NFC in one month, on March 26. Ahead of that, it’s not giving away too much early, talking about how this represents “a new dimension of smart home access” and promising how you’ll be able to “open your door with Tap to Unlock.”

If you’re at all curious about this upgrade, you can register your email with Nuki to get updates on the launch and receive an “exclusive subscriber-only offer.” With any luck, that might just include a discount; right now the existing Keypad 2 is a $159 add-on, and you’d have to think that a newer version with more functionality would only cost more.

At least we should have those answers soon. For now, we have a few details like Aliro support, but hopefully the full picture will be clear next month.