Ecobee announces built-in Siri support for its flagship smart thermostat
The Ecobee SmartThermostat with Voice Control is getting integrated Siri capabilities.
The Ecobee SmartThermostat with Voice Control is getting a built-in Siri.
Apple on Monday kicked off its WWDC annual developer conference with a bunch of announcements, including FaceTime on Android devices, iOS 15 and health data sharing. It also introduced important changes in the smart home sphere. You'll soon be able to use Siri to control your Apple TV (via a HomePod Mini) and your HomePod Minis can be paired as stereo speakers.
But potentially even more significant is Apple's decision to offer up Siri to third-party devices. Smart home device maker Ecobee announced it will be the first to bring built-in Siri voice capabilities to a smart thermostat, specifically its flagship SmartThermostat with Voice Control.
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Ecobee's SmartThermostat with Voice Control has a built-in Alexa speaker and already supports Apple HomeKit as well as Google Assistant if you have a separate compatible smart speaker or display. This update is designed to expand Ecobee's existing HomeKit integrations by adding built-in Siri capabilities.
The thermostat company says folks with a SmartThermostat with Voice Control who also have either a HomePod or a HomePod Mini can speak to Siri from their smart thermostat using a standard "Hey, Siri" command. This update is supposed to work on both existing and new SmartThermostats with Voice Control.
It's less than ideal that you need an Apple smart speaker for the built-in Siri portion to work. But, as always, we'll test it out to see if the update adds any value to the SmartThermostat with Voice Control.
