Ecobee?s new SmartThermostat is faster, sleeker, and a better Alexa speaker

(In fact, if you are upgrading from an Ecobee3 or Ecobee4 to the SmartThermostat, you can program your existing room sensors to work with the new thermostat.) It has all of the stuff you want in a smart thermostat: intelligent scheduling, smartphone app control, and presence detection so it can automatically tell when you’re home or not and adjust your HVAC system accordingly. (It was so bad on the last model that I ended up disabling the microphones entirely, neutering the Alexa assistant inside.) The usefulness of having Alexa built into your thermostat will vary depending on where it’s installed in your home, but I can at least say that now it won’t get in the way like it did before.Ecobee has also added Amazon’s Alexa calling, messaging, and Drop In features to the SmartThermostat, bringing it to parity with Echo devices and other Alexa-equipped speakers.The new SmartThermostat is coming at an opportune time for Ecobee. But if you’ve been eyeing a smart thermostat upgrade for your home and haven’t jumped on a prior Ecobee model or a Nest, the new SmartThermostat is an attractive option.Photography by Dan Seifert / The VergeVox Media has affiliate partnerships.