To make it easier to manage the mountain of tools you’ll usually find on a construction site, and to help deter theft, Dewalt is introducing a new line of Bluetooth rechargeable batteries that can be connected to a smartphone app for checking their charge status—or remotely disabling them.
The brand’s new 20V MAX 2.0 Amp and 4.0 Amp lithium ion batteries pair with the free Android or iOS Dewalt Tool Connect app allowing jobsite managers to keep track of their battery inventory at a given location, keep an eye on charge levels, and remotely disable specific batteries, or all of them in range in one fell swoop. Which is a handy feature to help ensure tools aren’t being used once the work day is done, and to discourage thieves.
The app can serve as more than just a theft deterrent, though. Through automatic alerts users can be notified when a battery has been taken out of range, at which point the Tool Connect app can even automatically disable it until returned. There are also alerts for when a battery is about to die, or for when it’s done charging. There’s even the option to lend tools to others for a specified amount of time; if the battery’s not returned by the time the clock runs out, it will be automatically be disabled.
Available come July for $99 and $139 for the 2.0 and 4.0 Amp versions respectively, the new batteries seem expensive, at least until the first time you catch someone trying to steal one. Then they’re worth every penny.
[Dewalt]