Ecobee smart thermostats now support Google Home and Assistant-enabled devices

If you’re considering kitting out your home with smart home tech just in time for winter, your first step should probably be a smart thermostat.

The nascent tech has become a hotly contested sector in recent years, with devices from the likes of Nest – which is owned by Google’s parent company Alphabet – leading the charge.

Another top brand emerging from the smart thermostat industry is Ecobee, a Canadian company that, alongside Nest, differentiates itself from cheaper, copycat hardware with official support for voice commands. This feature was previously governed by Amazon’s Alexa, which comes built-in with its top-end devices like the Ecobee4.

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As of today, however, Ecobee owners’ digital assistant options have expanded to include Google Assistant. In a press release, Ecobee noted that customers can use Assistant on compatible phones, one of Google’s Home smart speakers, and other supported devices to adjust their home’s heating levels and schedule with simple voice commands.

Read: What is Google Assistant? How can you use it?

The changes will come into effect for all of Ecobee’s smart thermostats installed in homes across the US and Canada. As well as Alexa and Assistant, Ecobee’s devices also support Apple HomeKit, Samsung SmartThings, Wink, and IFTTT.