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Apple Home Key comes to everyone, everywhere with Aliro launch
After years in development, the Connectivity Standards Alliance has announced the release of the 1.0 version of Aliro, bringing an Apple Home Key-like experience to everyone.
Aliro brings the Apple Home Key experience to other ecosystems with this new open standard
The Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) is a member-driven organization that develops the Matter smart home standard. Matter was designed to enable smart home devices to work across different ecosystems, and Aliro is a new specification within that framework.
Not much has been shared about Aliro since the original announcement. Recently, interest has increased as manufacturers prepare Aliro-compatible products, such as those showcased at CES 2026.
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Apple Home Key comes to everyone, everywhere with Aliro launch
[Andrew O'Hara's profile picture]
Thu Feb 26 2026, 08:08 AM EST
3 minute read
Aliro brings the Apple Home Key experience to other ecosystems with this new open standard
After years in development, the Connectivity Standards Alliance has announced the release of the 1.0 version of Aliro, bringing an Apple Home Key-like experience to everyone.
The Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) is a member-driven organization that develops the Matter smart home standard. Matter was designed to enable smart home devices to work across different ecosystems, and Aliro is a new specification within that framework.
Not much has been shared about Aliro since the original announcement. Recently, interest has increased as manufacturers prepare Aliro-compatible products, such as those showcased at CES 2026.
"Aliro is solving the fragmentation that has held back digital key adoption, replacing it with a single interoperability standard built through Alliance Member collaboration," said Tobin Richardson, President and CEO, Connectivity Standards Alliance. "By connecting the access control industry directly to leading mobile wallet ecosystems, it delivers a secure, frictionless experience that goes well beyond the front door. Lower integration complexity means faster innovation and shorter time to market."
This is a major milestone for users who should start to see many benefits as products start receiving their certifications.
What is Aliro?
Aliro is both a new communication protocol and a credential standard that will work across platforms. It's expected to be supported by all major ecosystems and device manufacturers, including Apple, Google, and Samsung.
Aliro will support BLE, NFC, and UWB
Since there are many different installation environments, Aliro is designed to work with multiple underlying technologies. It will work and authenticate with Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Ultra Wideband (UWB), and Near Field Communication (NFC).
It's essentially an open version of Apple Home Key that also works with NFC and UWB. Apple users have been able to use Home Key with multiple smart locks for years now, and Aliro will bring this experience to everyone else.
Why Apple Home users should care
Even though Apple already has UWB and NFC through Home Key, Apple Home users will still get various benefits from the release of Aliro. For starters, this should spur adoption significantly.
Home Key is basically Aliro, but will be for all other platforms
Right now, if a lock manufacturer wants to support Apple Home Key, they need to work directly with Apple. Once enabled, this NFC or UWB unlocking will only work for Apple users.
Take the Aqara U400 as an example — it's the first smart lock to launch with UWB support. Right now, only Apple users can take advantage of this unlocking method, which authenticates seamlessly as they approach.
The Aqara U400 will be updated with full Aliro support
Aqara has already said that the U400 is Aliro-ready and will be updated to support the new standard. When it does, non-Apple users will be able to use NFC or UWB as well.
As an Apple user, this means a far better experience for shared households. If any family members, friends, or guests don't have an iPhone, they'll be able to use these digital keys in their wallets, too.
With this technology becoming widely available and a single certification to meet, we can expect many more smart locks to hit the market. All major lock manufacturers have announced support, and several products are already confirmed.
Another big benefit for Apple users will be broader access control. Aliro is not confined to the smart home, but anywhere that badged access is offered.
Aliro can be rolled out in gyms, apartment buildings, offices, hospitals, and more. Apple users will soon be able to use their Apple Wallet as their method of entry to far more than just their home.
Supported devices and platforms
With the 1.0 announcement, no products or ecosystems currently offer support out of the gate. This release signifies that devices can start the certification process, and ecosystems can plan to finish their development and rollout.
Your digital wallet will be able to open more than just your smart home, such as offices, apartments, gyms, hospitality venues, and more
Samsung, Google, and Apple will almost certainly all support it, but there is no timeline or confirmation as of yet. Apple will need to add support officially before a lock that supports only Aliro and not Home Key will work with Apple Home.
Thus far, there are a handful of announced devices that are planned to support Aliro. These are some of the biggest announcements so far:
- Aqara U400: Already available and will be updated to support Aliro
- Nuki: Teased upcoming Nuki Keypad 2 NFC with Aliro support
- Xthings: Ultraloq Latch 7 Pro announced with planned Aliro support
- Avia Aurora: Announced and arriving with Aliro support
- Kwikset Halo Select Plus: Available now and getting updated with Aliro
- Level Touch and Level Lock Pro: Available now and will be updated to support Aliro
- Schlage Sense Pro Smart Deadbolt: Announced at CES 2025 and coming in 2026 with Aliro