Designed by Apple veterans, Latch is pitching disposable codes to landlords

Many of us have operated some kind of electronic lock in a hotel room or office. A handful of startups also pitch individual homeowners on locks that can be opened with codes or phones. Latch, whose hardware can open a door with a numeric code, a phone’s Bluetooth connection, or a traditional metal key, is targeting city landlords whose concerns about building access are more complex than they used to be.

It is designed by co-founder Thomas Meyerh offer, a star at Apple in the 1990s. The plain zinc surface sports a circular black plastic touchscreen across the top — designed to resemble an ‘unblinking eye’, according to Meyerhoffer. “It’s a simple product, because it’s replacing a simple product,” he says.

Latch’s sales pitch emphasises big buildings’ traffic problems. Along with the growing raft of delivery services that apartment dwellers now rely on, guests, dog walkers, nannies, maids and others need varying levels of access. Latch promises to help landlords simplify those issues and monitor the facilities.

Of course, where a landlord sees an opportunity for data collection, residents might see a threat of constant surveillance. But residents also have some control — they can have the building management turn off the camera in the Latch lock on their units. But using the cameras and codes to enforce building rules, such as limits on guests or bans on Airbnb rentals, is a selling point for Latch.

While the company wouldn’t disclose the price, the hardware reportedly costs less than a high-end mechanical lock, and the company charges a monthly per-unit subscription fee.