Toronto-based has ecobee scored a major win today in its mission to connect the world’s homes. The company’s ecobee3 Wi-Fi enabled smart thermostat has now been added to the Connected Home section of Apple’s U.S. online store. ecobee also told me the smart thermostat can be purchased in a similar fashion from Best Buy as well.
The distribution agreements should help into significantly increase the installed base of ecobee’s latest smart thermostat, which is a complete overhaul from its predecessor. In a statement given to BetaKit, ecobee CEO Stuart Lombard was understandably “thrilled” with the current market reaction to the ecobee3, but as of press time, has yet to comment on whether the company has plans to integrate with Apple’s HomeKit.
It’s unlikely that Apple would start selling a smart thermostat that was not intending to integrate with the company’s connected home framework. Then again, Apple is still selling smart thermostats made by Nest, a company recently acquired by Google for 3.2 billion. Notably, ecobee publishes its own API for developers to integrate their apps with the company’s smart thermostats.
Update: Lombard has provided us with an official comment regarding ecobee’s current stance on HomeKit. “We’re always looking at new technologies that enhance our customers’ experience,” he said. “We’re currently evaluating HomeKit functionality and will keep you posted on any developments.”