Smart door locksmith Level brings a new video doorbell to apartment dwellers

by Janice Allen
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Level has announced that it is releasing a doorbell camera as an optional part of a doorbell camera exclusively for multi-family homes general smart home platform for multi-family homes. The video doorbell wouldn’t be widely available, instead coming to a smart home market for multi-family buildings that could benefit from a smart retail locksmith entering the space.

Our first impression was that it could provide a camera shared by the occupants of a block of flats, but according to Level it isn’t, with the system designed to place them on individual units.

Level says residents can use the Level app to see through the doorbell camera and talk to visitors on the other side. The press release adds that the camera includes “package identification intelligence” to notify residents when deliveries have arrived. Assuming the company brings the same level of creativity to its doorbell camera as the Level Bolt – its “invisible” smart lock that puts all its smart guts into the deadbolt itself – the Level video doorbell could bring sophistication otherwise lacking in this market.

In an email to The edge, Ned Murphy, Level’s chief revenue officer, said the camera will be compatible with locks found in Level’s multi-family catalog, and users will be able to switch their door locks through the video call interface.

Although, as we pointed out when competitor Latch debuted in 2016, such systems can have privacy issues, such as that company’s requirement that its locks keep usage logs for landlords to potentially review.

The release touches on privacy, but barely, saying the doorbell camera will be accessible through the Level app “while respecting neighbor privacy and owner liability.” However, it is not clear what that means.

We’ve asked Level for more details, and in an email to The edge, Murphy said Level stores 20-second video clips for 72 hours, but residents can’t record and save videos after that. Package detection, Murphy said, will notify all residents within a unit when a package is found, including everyone on the lease for a particular unit.

How does the doorbell inform the right resident about guests? What does “package identification intelligence” mean; are all residents notified when an order arrives, or can the delivery driver somehow ask the system to tell only the addressee? We’ve asked Level these questions and more and will provide an update as soon as we know more.

Apartment residents can control smart home devices using Level’s platform interface on smartphones and computers.
Image: level

Level’s new smart system for multi-home units is coming thanks to the 2021 acquisition of Dwelo. Like corporate smart home company Latch, Dwelo offers a smart home system for apartment buildings and landlords that gives control over pre-configured smart home devices for residents who own building owners.

As for whether this platform is an extension of Dwelo’s, Murphy writes that it isn’t – the platform it launched today is “all new, designed and developed by Level.”

Level CEO and co-founder John Martin is quoted in the press release:

“First-generation smart apartment platforms lack the quality and reliability that building owners and operators have come to expect. With Level’s technology and innovation, there is finally an answer.”

Level said in its release that it would end the Dwelo name and bring the system fully under the Level brand.

Update June 1, 2023, 5 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with details and quotes from Level.

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