Yale Smart Delivery Box will help you keep your package from getting stolen

Yale Smart Delivery Box will help you keep your package from getting stolen

Package theft is a problem, but not everyone is comfortable with Amazon's Key program, which automatically unlocks the front door so the delivery person can leave the package inside the house.

Yale's new smart delivery box, unveiled at CES 2020, may be a sensible solution to deter porch thieves. It is a large plastic box whose lid locks with a small Bluetooth-controlled latch. When a security camera receives a notification that someone is at the front door, it can be used to remotely unlock the delivery box and have the package left inside. The smart delivery box will be available later this year for about $200.

The delivery box itself is a fairly basic plastic container made by Kingsley Park. It is 2 feet high by 2.5 feet wide and comes with a cold bag in case you order groceries. The stand on which the box is placed can be filled with sand or water to prevent thieves from taking the entire box away.

The smart lock inside the box is quite small, about the size of a power cube used to charge a smartphone. Because it works via Bluetooth, Yale says the lock should last for years before it needs to be recharged.

Yale also sells this lock separately as the Smart Cabinet Lock ($79). In this case, it can be used to prevent children from ransacking liquor cabinets and to keep others out of sensitive areas. This lock also has a safety button in case a child accidentally locks himself inside.

The company said it believes the Smart Cabinet Lock will be very popular with AirBnB hosts who want to keep their personal possessions secure but do not want to move everything in their home.

To remotely control the Smart Delivery Box and Smart Cabinet Lock, owners must also purchase the Yale Connect Wi-Fi Bridge. Unfortunately, the Wi-Fi Bridge can only connect to one device, so a Wi-Fi Bridge is required for each Yale Smart Lock owned.

The Smart Delivery Box costs $229 on its own, $279 with the Yale Connect Wi-Fi Bridge, and $299 with the Yale Connect Wi-Fi Bridge and cooler bag. The Smart Cabinet Lock is $79 alone or $129 with the Yale Connect Wi-Fi Bridge.

Be sure to check out the CES 2020 hub for the latest news and hands-on impressions from Las Vegas.

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