UPS Latch coming to 10 US cities later this year

UPS Latch, the courier company’s Amazon Key-like smart lock service, will be introduced to 10 US cities in 2019.

The service, which currently operates only in New York and San Francisco, will come to Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Philadelphia, Seattle and Washington, DC.

UPS Latch allows drivers to make deliveries in apartment buildings when residents aren’t home. Residents or building staff use the Latch app, a code or a keycard to enter the building, while couriers can enter communal areas or package rooms to deposit parcels.

Credit: UPS

The smart lock comes with a wide-angle camera to record anyone who tries to interact with it, providing footage that can be viewed through the app. Photos are also emailed to the recipient to confirm delivery—in September last year, a UPS driver with a habit of posing for the camera went viral after someone posted shots to Reddit.

Unlike Amazon Key, UPS Latch is currently intended for shared buildings and is not available for individual residents. Luke Schoenfelder, CEO and founder of Latch, doesn’t yet see them as direct competitors, as Latch is focused on “dense urban settings where drop-off wasn’t possible before”.

Source: The Verge