Why You Can Trust CNET Your Honeywell Lyric thermostat now talks to Google Home
Honeywell's lineup of Lyric thermostats finally work with Google's Home speaker.
Honeywell today announced Google Home support for its Lyric line of smart thermostats. Previously, only its Total Connect Comfort models worked with Google's Wi-Fi voice controlled speaker.
The Google Home is Google/Alphabet's answer to Amazon's smart speakers, all powered by the voice control assistant, Alexa. It costs $130 or £130 ($130 converts to roughly AU$175; the Google Home is expected to hit stores in Australia later in 2017).
First introduced in late 2014, Amazon's inaugural Alexa device -- the $180 Echo -- allowed customers to control various connected home products with the wake word, "Alexa." Since then, Amazon has expanded to support thousands of integrations via its Alexa Skills Kit and introduced several more speakers. Here's the complete list:
- Amazon Echo Show: $230
- Amazon Echo Look: $200
- Amazon Echo: $180
- Amazon Tap: $130
- Amazon Echo Dot: $50
- Amazon Dash Wand: $20
Google's Home speaker, powered by Google Assistant, responds to the phrases, "OK, Google," or "Hey, Google." While it works in much the same way as Amazon's Alexa speakers, it hit stores in late 2016 -- two years after Amazon's Echo. As a result, Google has a lot of catching up to do.
Now, though, you'll be able say, "Hey, Google! Set my Honeywell Lyric T5 thermostat to 68 degrees." Since Google Home/DIY smart thermostat partnerships were previously limited to Nest's Learning Thermostat (Nest is owned by Google/Alphabet), today's integration with Honeywell's Lyric thermostats certainly helps. Hopefully Ecobee's smart thermostats will follow suit in short order.
