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Yale's new Sync security system gets Philips Hue, Alexa integrations

When the alarm sounds, your smart lights will start flashing red.

Ben Fox Rubin Former senior reporter
Ben Fox Rubin was a senior reporter for CNET News in Manhattan, reporting on Amazon, e-commerce and mobile payments. He previously worked as a reporter for The Wall Street Journal and got his start at newspapers in New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts.
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Ben Fox Rubin
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The new Yale Sync Alarm system.

 Ben Fox Rubin/CNET

Yale's refreshed home security system is getting a few new connected features.

At the IFA 2018 tech show in Berlin, the door lock maker's UK arm on Thursday unveiled the new Yale Sync Alarm, its second-generation home security system for European markets. The new system, which starts at 299 euros, is a follow-up to the Yale Smart Home Alarm system.

As new functions, Yale integrated Sync with Amazon's Alexa to let people use voice commands to turn the alarm system on and off and to check if windows or doors are open. The new system also works with Philips Hue smart lights, so turning the alarm system on or off will cause connected lightbulbs to flash green once. Also, if the alarm goes off, the Philips lights will flash red repeatedly.

Amazon wanted to team up with Yale on the new alarm system to keep up its vision of enabling "every device, every gadget, every system, every service to be voice enabled," Matt Andrade, an Alexa business development manager, said at Yale's IFA press event Thursday.

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While the new alarm system will only be available in Europe, it highlights how these security devices are gaining more smart-home abilities to potentially offer greater peace of mind and better security. In the US, the Nest x Yale lock, which launched this year, works with the Nest Hello Doorbell to recognize faces and announce visitors through your Google Home smart speaker.

Yale UK on Thursday also unveiled new versions of its two Wi-Fi-connected cameras for European markets, one for indoors and one for outdoors.

As part of the Alexa partnership, the new Sync system will only be available on Amazon's UK site from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31. Preorders on Amazon start Saturday. The indoor camera will start shipping Oct. 1, and the outdoor camera will start shipping in January.

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