The retail cost of app-controlled smart locks will drop to $189 in 2025 (15% less than in 2023), and the installation price will be reduced to $25 due to the commoditization of standardized services (Home Depot 2024 Smart Home White Paper). Market Research firm ABI Research statistics reveal that the number of users of these types of devices will exceed 420 million, which is 31% of the total households worldwide. Its inherent value lies in the following three aspects: saving operational cost, improving security efficiency, and optimizing scenario adaptation. To illustrate, let us look at Schlage Encode WiFi. The functionality of users providing temporary access rights remotely to third parties through the APP has increased the property management efficiency by 73% (Harvard Housing Research Center case). As a result, Airbnb hosts have reduced the key handover time by 30% and saved a total amount of $420 in operational costs per unit in an average year.
In technical specifications, by 2025, the Bluetooth 5.3 module of the mainstream smart lock will reduce the response time to 0.3 seconds (40% higher than that in 2023). Along with the IP65 waterproof and working temperature of -30°C to 85°C, the failure rate will be reduced to 0.8 times annually (UL certification statistics). When paired with the Internet of Things system, devices that utilize the Matter 1.3 protocol can activate security cameras in 0.5 seconds when they detect an attempted intrusion, which is six times faster than the 3-second response loop of traditional standalone security systems. Yale Real Living test figures reveal that this common mechanism has reduced 92% of night-time door break-ins (based on the analysis of Chicago police response records in 2024).
Even more remarkable is the quantitative improvement in security performance: Intelligent locks based on 3D structured light technology (e.g., Apple Home Key-compatible products) have a false recognition rate of only 0.0001%, 1,000 times more accurate than the fingerprint recognition software. Within the brute force cracking, the lock body made in Germany with TUV certification can withstand 1800N (impact of a 181-kilogram object) impact force, far greater than the 453N demand of the ANSI/BHMA Grade 1 standard. From the network security point of view, the Arm Corcortex -M55 chipset has reduced the risk of remote hijacking from 0.7% in 2023 to 0.03% through AES-256 encryption and blockchain key escrow (Kaspersky 2025 Internet of Things Security Report).
Economic analysis illustrates that the synergy between home insurance and smart lock continues to increase: Large insurers such as State Farm offer APP controlled users a premium discount of up to 28% (the industry average was 19% in 2025), which is an average annual saving of $147. Even more disproportionate are the costs of maintenance – the average maintenance cost per year of traditional mechanical locks is $82, while the self-inspection function of smart locks can extend the maintenance cycle to once every 3 years (data from ASSA ABLOY Laboratory), with an annual cost of only $26. When the savings from ENERGY optimization (a 7% reduction in HVAC energy consumption by the thermostats connected) are taken into consideration, the payback on equipment investment is lowered from 18 months to 13 months (ENERGY STAR 2025 measurement model).
The user behavior statistics reveal that 79% of apps compel users to use digital keys 4.2 times a day (cumulative statistics of Samsung SmartThings background), among which 62% of one-time passwords are authorized for express delivery opening (Amazon 2025 Logistics Report). This high-frequency interaction gives rise to new business models: Kwikset has teamed up with DoorDash, where couriers can increase the signature rate by 19% and save customers 3.2 minutes of waiting time per order by completing deliveries through one-time password. In senior-friendly scenarios, the voiceprint recognition feature has helped users over the age of 65 years reduce the lock-picking error rate from 23% to 1.4% (AARP Senior Technology Application Research).
Potential risks need to be taken into account: The presentation at the Black Hat 2024 conference shows that the BLE protocol of some low-cost smart locks has 0-day vulnerabilities and can be vulnerable to relay attacks (with a 12% success rate). Yet industry solutions have improved – NXP launched the security component SE050, which reduced the encrypted handshake time to 80ms with an efficiency of 99.998% in preventing man-in-the-middle attacks. At the regulatory front, EU Cybersecurity Act 2025 compulsorily requires smart locks to attain EN 303 645 certification, where the firmware update cycle is ≤15 days and the vulnerability fix response time is ≤72 hours (referring to the legislative acceleration after the LockBit ransomware attack in 2024).
The growth momentum is strong: The global shipment of APP-controlled smart locks will reach 190 million units in 2025 (CAGR 24.7%), with the Chinese market accounting for 38% (IDC prediction). Such growth is reshaping the urban landscape of security – the Seoul metropolitan government has mandated that 100% of new apartments are pre-installed with smart locks after 2025, which is estimated to reduce the incidence of burglars by an additional 41% (citing the statistic of a 33% decrease in cases over the years when the installation rate rose from 55% to 82% from 2020 to 2024). When its device penetration rate exceeds the 50% tipping point (Gartner’s Technology Maturity Curve), its network effect will increase the response time of community security by three times and reduce the security cost per thousand properties by 58% (McKinsey’s Smart city Cost model).