Amazon Smart Thermostat vs. Wyze Thermostat: Comparing Affordable Smarts

Speaker 1: Why pay big money for a smart thermostat. When a cheap one can do the trick, hold onto your dollars. We are comparing two affordable, smart thermostats from Amazon and wise to find out which one is the best one for you. Speaker 1: So you're probably wondering what do I yet, if I pay more for a smart thermostat and the answer is mostly that it's gonna look nicer. Our favorites from [00:00:30] companies like nest and eco be are definitely party, but you do get some features as well. Eco be has a built in voice assistant. You can usually get some remote sensors for different rooms. And it used to be that you had to pay up to get smarts at all. The $200 plus high end bottles were also the baseline. Not anymore. Now, in fact, you have two good options for less than a hundred bucks. The Amazon smart thermostat is $60 and the wise [00:01:00] thermostat is 71, but I'm guessing you don't need two different thermostats in your home unless you like collecting oddly shaped paper weights. So which one is the best or more specifically, which one is the best for you? We're gonna find out we'll go through the basics and the features of each. And then we'll put those features to the test by seeing how easy it is to create a schedule in each of them. And then how well geofencing works so that the thermostats can act on their own. [00:01:30] Then we'll put it all together and name a winner. Let's go, Speaker 1: All right, the basics. I mentioned the prices above, but with Amazon, you have to pay extra. If you need a C wire adapter, it's included with Ys note, the adapter is for if your system doesn't have a C wire, it means your HVAC system is a little older and it means you're going to need an adapter and a little bit more installation time, regardless of which model you pick for Amazon, [00:02:00] the adapter is an extra 30 on its own, or you can pay 75 up front for both the thermostat and the adapter. Instead of 60, you can save some money by knowing whether you need the adapter before you order. But note that if you need the adapter, Amazon's thermostat is actually more expensive than wise. Get them installed and you get what you expect from a smart thermostat. They both have physical trolls. You can control them with an app, both respond to voice commands. Speaker 1: Amazon only works with the company's own assistant [00:02:30] wise works with Google assistant as well as Amazon, neither works with home kit and Siri both let you create schedules. Both have a version of geofencing, so you can change the temperature when you come and go both use your phone's location for that. And Amazon also uses a feature called Huns, which is where its assistant tries to proactively anticipate what you need. And that's it given the similar set of features. It sure looks like wise has an advantage, given that it includes [00:03:00] an adapter and is compatible with Google assistant, but let's see how they both hold up. Once we start to use them test number one, scheduling, let's see how easy it is to create a schedule for each thermostat. Using the app. We'll actually tally the number of taps it takes, and we'll throw some anecdotal in there about how intuitive the process is for each, for both. Speaker 1: I'm going to set a sleep schedule on Saturday and Sunday. Let's say I'll sleep from midnight to 10:00 AM. And like at [00:03:30] chill, let's do Amazon first, cuz the alphabet starting with the Amazon app, open click the devices tab at the bottom, then the thermostats category. Then the specific thermostat three taps. But now we're actually at the device from here, hit the gear icon and then thermostat schedule. Now tap use thermostat schedule weirdly you can't use a set schedule and geofencing. [00:04:00] Amazon uses its own proactive hunches for changing the temp. Most of the time, this is you saying no, no I wanna do it. Six total taps so far. Now notice the days at the bottom of the screen, it already has some standard time set. For most days, let's adjust the weekend, specifically tap the S on the right for Saturday. Tap the set, sleep time and let's move it to midnight. Tap the time and scroll, tap safe. Now I am not waking [00:04:30] up until 10. Tap the BS. 8:00 AM time, tap again and scroll to 10 safe. I'll delete this super 5:00 PM event delete. Now the schedule is set. So I hit copy schedule to another day. Hap Sunday hap save and we're done 12 clicks once I'm already on the schedule. 15, once I'm at the device and 18 overall [00:05:00] not counting the scroll rolling. So it's click heavy, but intuitive enough with wise, you can see the device right away, tap it. Then the gear icon Speaker 1: Schedule Create schedule, tap the S and S. Now we add a block sleep Scroll to set the time and save. [00:05:30] Add the second block, Scroll to 10:00 AM Save. Speaker 1: Then you need to hit save once again, bank the whole thing. And that's it wise does win this one with fewer clicks, only four clicks before you're actually creating a schedule and eight from there for a grand total of 12. Again, not counting the scrolling. It's straightforward, simple, but not really that much [00:06:00] less than Amazon, especially if you like having those default options in there to start. So you don't need to insert everything yourself. Test number two geofencing. Let's see which one works better. And more reliably. We started with why we set up a cam on the thermostat and with us in the car and took off with a logged on phone. Nothing happened. We reached out to the company and found out the infrared sensor might have been detecting the camera person. Fair enough. Round two, no cam on the thermostat, [00:06:30] just us in the car, nothing we tried with Amazon and we just started by leaving with no cam on the thermostat since it uses hunches and it ropes in info from other smart speakers and whatnot. Speaker 1: We reached out to Amazon too, to confirm that and still nothing. So it's possible. There's still more going on under the hood. We went several miles with both tests, which should be enough. If you live in a city, you might work closer than for five miles to your home. And we went well beyond [00:07:00] that without access to reliable triggers, we're sticking a fork in this one and calling it a draw. And finally, let's talk about what it's like to just use the thermostats. Changing the temperature with the app or with voice controls is intuitive for both. You can raise and the temp with your voice, or you can set a specific temp. Both can be added to your grouped commands called routines. So say goodnight to your smart speaker and the lights will turn off while your thermostat turns [00:07:30] it to that perfect level of chili. Speaker 1: So you have a great excuse to Nestle under a pile of blankets. They differentiate. When you want to use the device itself, the Amazon thermostat has fine physical controls. They're functional, they're basic, but the wise thermostats clunky the dial is weird and not all that intuitive, which is surprising wise, normally nails the basics. And this probably isn't that big of a deal. You're gonna be using the app. You gonna be using your voice, [00:08:00] but sometimes you like to press things or turn things. And Amazon makes that better than once. But given how close they are in the tests, it's enough for us to give the overall victory in this close battle to the Amazon thermostat, both are great options. If you need an affordable, smart thermostat, but an Amazon's device is just that much cheaper, especially if you have a modern HVAC system and it's that much more intuitive to use. Speaker 1: Now the best for you might still be [00:08:30] Watts. If you have a smart home built around Google assistant, consider Watts, if you don't have a modern HVAC system and you really want the cheapest option for yours setup consider wise, if you want a smart thermostat that kind of compliments you with its very name, that'd also be wise, but if you are smart assistant agnostic or you lean Amazon, yeah, this is your pick it's actually S's editor's choice winner for best affordable smart thermostat, Saul, pick this one up, [00:09:00] save some money and you're gonna get just about all the same features as if you are paying twice as much. Thank you very much for watching. Please hit that thumbs up button. If you enjoy the video and subscribe to S's YouTube channel for more check out the links below in the description. If you wanna see the full written CNET reviews of each of these thermostats, and we've also included links to retailers and comment below to let me know if you think I'm a weirdo for liking it really chilly when I sleep or comment [00:09:30] to let me know. If you think it's weird that I think it's weird to sleep while it's chill because of how common that is or comment below. If you think it's weird that I think it's weird that I'm calling it weird that you might think it's weird about the whole sleeping thing and, or you can comment to let me know if we made the right pick about thermostat. You do you. Thanks for watching.