Pros
- Speedy palm recognition
- Live video options
- Solid construction
- Two-way audio
- Object recognition
Cons
- App is sometimes limited
- Night vision struggles
- Matter cuts out many features
- Expensive
Aside from home security cameras, I’ve tested more smart locks than any other type of smart home device. With features like Apple Home Key and Matter compatibility becoming more common, newer innovations — like built-in video and palm recognition technology — are on the rise.
My time with the Lockin Veno Pro 7 proves this is a great solution, especially for homes without doorbell wiring. It’s available for discounted preorder on Indiegogo, with shipping currently set for April 2025 — though that date has changed a few times.
Lockin (which has experience working with home brands like Wyze) was among a cohort of touchless smart locks with palm vein recognition from brands like Philips, TP-Link, Eufy and TCL that debuted at CES 2025. Naturally, I jumped at the chance when Lockin offered to send the Veno Pro 7 my way for an early review. Time to see for myself if palm scanner locks are worth the hype. Spoiler: they are.
Read more: The Best Smart Locks, Tested and Reviewed
Half biometric smart lock…
Once your palms are registered, unlocking the Veno Pro 7 feels fast and natural.
Palm scanning is new to consumer smart locks, but it might be my favorite way to unlock a door — I love the speed. Setting it up on the Lockin Veno Pro 7 took just a few seconds, plus a few more to add my other palm since I never know which hand will be free when I reach the door.
By comparison, the lock’s fingerprint sensor takes a bit longer to set up — still under a minute or two — but it requires physical contact. Having two biometric access options is great, letting you choose the best one for your needs or switch as needed. Beyond palm veins and fingerprints, the Veno also includes a keypad and a physical bypass key.
The lock has a Builders Hardware Manufacturers Association (BHMA) Level 2 Certification and IP65 weatherproofing, making it a durable choice for residential settings. Its construction feels solid and doesn’t rely too heavily on plastic components.
The bypass key is more of a last resort if the battery dies. I love that it’s cleverly hidden behind the doorbell button. A big bonus of the physical key is that the lock can detect when someone manually controls it.
Most homeowners probably won’t use the keypad as much as the biometric options. But it’s still great for giving kids unique codes or granting temporary access to others who need it.
Installing the Veno Pro 7 is similar to other smart locks — it took me less than 15 minutes. The key difference is that the deadbolt has a built-in sensor to detect when the door is open based on a magnet in the strike plate. Built-in open/closed sensors are becoming a little more common, but many brands like Lockly still use an external sensor, so it’s nice to see Lockin’s hidden approach.
You can charge the battery in two ways. There’s a USB port on the side of the battery, or you can use the emergency charging port on the bottom of the outdoor keypad. Or, in a rare smart lock twist, you can buy a solar panel accessory that attaches to your door with adhesive strips. Although the panel is attractive, the power cable and necessary placement on the lower part of your door aren’t great for aesthetics. Still, Lockin gets points for including a relatively powerful solar panel that might help a lot in off-grid settings.
…Half video doorbell
When you view a live feed of the doorbell in the app, you can generate a one-time password on the spot for visitors to come inside in addition to manually unlocking the door from the app.
The video and image quality on the Veno Pro 7 are mostly excellent, but all screenshots and recordings show a circular frame with a fish-eye effect. While this doesn’t affect the quality of the images, it’s different from most video doorbells. Daytime images show accurate colors and plenty of detail. At night, the infrared night vision is decent but washes out objects about 10 feet away. Crucially, it captures the most detail near the lens, providing clear views of visitors.
Recordings seem to hold up pretty well, though there’s some motion blur with quick-moving objects. (I haven’t found many security cameras without some motion blur.) My biggest issue with the video was that the app didn’t have a way for me to review automatic recordings on the camera during my tests. Fortunately, the Lockin Home app has manual recording controls for video clips and images, but it took some time to locate them on my phone.
After checking with Lockin’s brand rep, they confirmed that video recordings aren’t available in the app yet but reported updates will add more functionality in the coming weeks. Still, I’m happy it’ll store every video locally on the doorbell rather than requiring a cloud storage subscription.
Although I’m disappointed that I couldn’t use the feature before publishing this review, I’m mostly satisfied with the manual recordings I made using the live feed in the app.
Lockin sets itself apart with two-way audio — a feature not found in all video smart locks. And yes, this is real: there’s an “Uncle” button for talking to visitors through the doorbell. When I tested it, it activated a voice changer that deepened my voice, possibly make it more intimidating, disguising it for added security and a bit of fun.
When someone rings the doorbell, you can answer by tapping the notification on your phone, using a quick reply or having the Veno Pro 7 automatically respond after a few seconds. I like the automatic replies, but couldn’t test their ability to record messages from visitors due to the aforementioned lack of video history in the app.
In addition to alerts from the doorbell button, the camera sends person, pet, vehicle and package alerts when it detects motion using onboard passive-infrared (PIR) and radar motion sensors. Although these alerts were accurate, there wasn’t an option to turn off specific alerts since the app has a single all-or-nothing doorbell notification toggle.
Intuitive app, limited smart home features
My first impression of the Lockin Home app is fairly positive.
I appreciate that you can adjust practically every feature in the Lockin Home app to meet your needs. For example, I gritted my teeth at how loud the speaker was during setup but was able to turn this down in the Audio Settings. It’s possible to turn off sounds altogether, though I like some audio feedback to know when Veno Pro 7 is active.
The app has three tabs: Devices, Events and Profile. Devices is essentially the home page where you can see every Lockin product in your home. I love the lack of clutter on this screen — you can quickly use the lock or jump into the doorbell’s live feed. The Events tab shows a helpful record of everything the camera spotted, and I imagine this is where the future video history will reside. There isn’t much to the Profile tab — only some support information and minor settings.
Lockin’s video smart lock with the inside component on a white door.
Unlike the app, the smart home aspects of the Lockin Veno Pro felt messy. While the packaging proudly displays compatibility with every platform that supports Matter, there’s currently no setup documentation on Lockin’s website. Having used Matter devices before, I had no trouble adding the Veno Pro 7 to Samsung SmartThings and Google Home.
You start by making the smart lock visible to Matter hubs, which involves reinserting the battery and scanning the Matter QR code inside the interior battery cover. (Make sure to scan the QR code with the Matter logo and not the generic one on the outside of the product packaging — like I did.) Since my testing was before the public release, the device wasn’t officially Matter-certified yet. Fortunately, I was able to connect the VenoPro 7 to Matter anyway.
While Lockin’s Matter support is nice to see, most of the Veno Pro’s app functionality won’t carry over to other smart home apps. There are few customization options, and the video doorbell functionality is nonexistent. For example, SmartThings showed me an event history and tamper detection, but there was no option for specific access codes. Linking it to Google Home posed the opposite problem, with an option to manage users but no other features beyond manual locking. Matter has had this problem before and brands need to step up to fix it.
Should you buy the Lockin Veno Pro 7?
Lockin’s Veno Pro 7 components on bamboo desk.
Overall, the Lockin Veno Pro 7 is a slick experience that feels like Lockin thought of almost everything. Barring the current absence of a video history option, I’m impressed with how well the app, lock and doorbell work. I’ll admit that palm vein detection seems gimmicky. But having used it, I can understand why so many brands are adding it to smart locks.
As for the price, you can preorder the Veno Pro 7 for $229 on Indiegogo until March 17. While the pre-release price is competitive, the lock will eventually retail for a hefty $399. Based on the small number of video smart locks currently available, this price is average — falling somewhere between the cheaper Eufy E330 and the more expensive Lockly Vision Elite. Keep in mind, Lockin’s version is also a crowdfunded lock from a lesser-known brand, which carries unique risks like an unknown security record and, as I’ve seen since my review, a shifting release date.
This begs the question: Is the Veno Pro 7 worth $400? An impressive build quality, clean design and solid features seem to say yes, especially if you prefer a simple aesthetic for your front door’s tech. However, you could easily buy our top picks for the best smart locks and video doorbells for much cheaper. Combining two devices into one may be practical, but it usually won’t save you money — and there are a lot of video smart locks coming in 2025.
