August's Smart Lock Pro has been one of our top picks for a long time among the best smart locks because of its ease of use, compatibility with other smart home products, and broad feature set However, there were two problems with this lock: it is very large and requires a separate device, August Connect, to remotely control the lock or link it to other smart home devices

Well, August has addressed both of these problems with the August Wi-Fi Smart Lock, which was announced at CES 2020 Not only is it much smaller than before, but it can now connect directly to Wi-Fi networks [According to the company, the Wi-Fi Smart Lock will be available this spring and will be priced about the same as the existing Smart Lock Pro

Like its predecessor, August's Wi-Fi Smart Lock has a solid aluminum body with subtle grooves along the outside for a good grip However, the August Wi-Fi Smart Lock is 20% slimmer and 45% smaller in volume than the Smart Lock Pro It also uses Wi-Fi in addition to Bluetooth

However, the company says there is little trade-off in battery life, thanks to an improved chip and a switch from AA batteries to smaller, higher-capacity 3-volt CR123 batteries [August says the batteries should last six months to a year, and a new feature in the August app allows it to work with Amazon's Dash replenishment service

Augusto's new smart lock is not the first product to use Wi-Fi instead of Zigbee, Z-Wave, or Bluetooth, but it is becoming more common as companies offer better power management

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