SwitchBot Lock Ultra Max review: The best smart lock I've tested gets even faster

It doesn't seem that long ago since I tested the SwitchBot Lock Ultra, which was billed as the ultimate smart lock, with "ultra-fast unlocking", and 99% compatibility.

I was more than a little surprised, then, when the nice people at SwitchBot whispered to me that there was a new version coming, which would be even faster and even smarter.

I've been testing it for a few weeks now, and the SwitchBot Lock Ultra Max has just been put on sale. It costs £189.99, while the standard Ultra is discounted down to £127.99. Is it worth the premium? I set out to find out.

What I liked about the SwitchBot Lock Ultra Max

Let's get one thing straight first of all, the whole ethos of the Ultra Max is its speed. The locking and unlocking speed of the Lock Ultra was hardly pedestrian, but this new Max version is nothing short of brutal.

It could be argued that alone isn't enough to warrant an upgrade, but it's fair to say the gulf in price isn't all that wide, so the newer, faster version is the one to pick.

It also has a triple-layer battery system, which is quite clever. This means there's a main rechargeable battery for daily use and, should you be foolish enough to ignore the daily warnings and let it run flat, a built-in backup battery will be charged up and ready to give you up to 500 emergency openings.

Then, if that happens to die on you for no reason, there's a supercapacitor which will cut in and jump the lock into life. In theory this means the lock will never let you down and, while I haven't been able to test it, it's a brilliant failsafe.

The new lock also has a nice silvery colour scheme, which looks quite classy, and it's every bit as easy to fit as the last one.

The key difference, however, is in that opening mechanism. It can open a door in as little as 1.1 seconds, applying more than 9KG of turning force. It's honestly the most impressive smart lock I've tested, and I've tested plenty.

The Lock Ultra Max, as with its predecessor, is at its best bundled in with SwitchBot's Keypad Vision Pro unit, which sits outside your house and makes the lock truly smart.

This really is the star of the show, with a frankly ridiculous 19 ways to unlock the door. I actually don't know what all of the 19 ways are, but let me talk you through the basics.

You have a standard coded entry. Six digits, and you're in. Then there's a face recognition system, or there's a fingerprint entry. You've also now got a clever palm recognition system which is a bit freaky, or you could set up an NFC entry and wave your phone or a card over the pad.

There's also voice control, smartwatch entry, geofencing, or you can just go into the app.

And if all this fails, or if you've got the mother-in-law over, you can use a standard key.

What I didn't like about the SwitchBot Lock Ultra Max

I said this in my last review and it remains the same, ignore what SwitchBot says about 99% compatibility, because that's based on European locks, and our locks are a bit different. If you have a thumb-turn lock, or if you're not able to use a key in either side of the lock barrel at the same time, it won't work with a SwitchBot smart lock.

That's not a SwitchBot issue, it's going to trip you up with most UK lock barrels and, thankfully, it's a fairly easy thing to sort.

I popped to my local Screwfix, paid £9.99 for a lock barrel with an "emergency" function, which basically means you can use two keys simultaneously in either end, and installed it in a couple of minutes.

This means the smart lock can operate a key in the inside, while leaving you free to still use a key in the outside. Prices of these vary, and you must measure them exactly.

The rest of the installation is easy, and SwitchBot walks you through it well in the app. And the app, incidentally, is superb. There are so many ways to customise the lock and the keypad.

That keypad is brilliant most of the time, but frustrating some of the time. For example, my wife has set up her face on it, but it refuses to unlock for her. No idea why. The fingerprint and palm recognition work instantly, but not the face unlock.

And then there's the NFC unlock. I like the idea of waving my phone at the keypad, but it won't accept my phone as a compatible device. And it won't accept my work phone, or my smart ring, or my wife's phone, or my wife's watch... There are cards you can use, apparently, but I've now lost interest in the NFC system. Face unlock works brilliantly - for me, at least.

The smart lock itself, priced as it currently is, is pretty good value at £189.99, but it's really nothing special without the Keypad Vision Pro. And that costs extra.

The full bundle, with a hub included to link everything to your WiFi, costs £339.99, and that's a lot of money for a smart lock. SwitchBot currently has a discount on its website bringing the bundle down to just £269.99, and that does make it more viable. Just don't miss the deal.

Overall verdict: Should you buy a SwitchBot Lock Ultra Max

There's a quick answer to this... Yes, definitely. I'm convinced it's basically the best lock on the market. There's little to dislike about the Lock Ultra, but the extra speed of the Max is so impressive, and it's worth the modest price increase.

Can you be bothered to change your lock barrel? That's a different question. Smart locks generally are a wonderful thing, and us Brits will have to cope with that decision unfortunately, regardless of the brand you pick.

The other niggle I have is the gremlins with the Keypad Vision Pro. And I'm convinced these will sort themselves out after a few updates, so it's not a deal-breaker.

The bottom line is this, if you're in the market for a smart lock and you want the best one you can buy, get one of these. It's absolutely terrific.