Stephen Silver
The long-awaited ecobee Switch+, a smart light switch that offers Siri HomeKit voice control via far-field voice technology, is coming at the end of March.
Other than HomeKit, The Switch+ also uses Amazon's Alexa Voice Service and Google Assistant, and other platforms. A room sensor feature associated with the Switch+ itself will be available later in 2018 through a firmware update.
"Our research finds voice-based services are actually outpacing all other ecosystems at a rate of three to one," ecobee President and CEO Stuart Lombard said. "With ecobee4 and now ecobee Switch+, voice literally weaves into the very fabric of your home, taking us one step closer to a whole home voice reality, which is proving to be the future of the smart home."
The product's availability was announced at the South by Southwest conference in Austin, Tex. It is available for preorder now and in stores March 26. The product had been announced in the spring of 2017, with a pilot program launched in September.
Smart home company ecobee, founded in Toronto in 2007, has primarily been associated with smart thermostats for most of its history. Its products have integrated with HomeKit ever since the release of the updated ecobee 3 in 2015, and continuing with last year's ecobee 4.
Christine McKee
Charles Martin
Oliver Haslam
William Gallagher
Sponsored Content
3 Comments
I am a pilot tester, it's a well designed device. I have one in our garage, it's lovely to be able to walk in and it turn the lights on for me. It also can tell me the temperature in the room so I can take action if it gets too cold. I love that it can turn the lights off after no motion, my kids forget to turn the lights off all the time.
I know the Ecobee Switch has built-in Alexa like the Ecobee 4, but does it actually have built in Siri as well. This does not sound correct to me.
Does anyone have any information on this light switch? The reviews on Amazon look to be really good but I never hear anyone using it from HomeKit insider and it’s never on their list of recommended light switches. Thinking about putting some in a few rooms.