Ecobee appears to be planning to show off its new Ecobee4 smart thermostat next week. The company teased out the date today on a new sign-up page that says ‘something big is in the works’ under what is likely a preview of the new smart thermostat hardware.
Ecobee4 is expected to include a built-in microphone and speaker that offers Amazon Alexa integration right on the device. Ecobee3 already works with Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant but requires an Amazon Echo smart speaker.
The new hardware also appears sleeker with new silver room sensors compared to the current white sensors based on recent leaks. (Fingers crossed that the new blue LED strip can be adjusted and isn’t always on.)
Ecobee’s tease comes a week after relaunching the Ecobee3 Lite with newly added support for Ecobee’s room sensors that detect presence and temperature. Ecobee3 Lite originally launched last year as a cheaper alternative without bundling sensors and actually lacked support for expanding the hardware, but a recent firmware update introduced support for expansion.
Ecobee3 has also been discounted ahead of the new hardware introduction now expected to be coming next week.
Ecobee has discounted the main Ecobee3 thermostat from $249 to $199 (currently $198 on Amazon). The thermostat itself is one sensor while the package includes an additional sensor and add-on sensors are available separately. You can read my full review including hands-on with Apple HomeKit integration.
Here’s what the Ecobee4 hardware and new sensors are expected to look like:
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