“In the nascent connected home industry, startups now have the choice to tie up with platforms from either Apple or Google,” Aaron Tilley reports for Forbes. “And going with Apple can make a big difference — that’s at least according to smart thermostat-maker Ecobee.”
“In July, the Toronto, Canada-based startup released a version of its $250 Ecobee3 thermostat certified by Apple to work with HomeKit, the iPhone maker’s program for syncing up smart home gadgets in iOS,” Tilley reports. “Becoming a HomeKit-certified device has resulted in a major jump in sales for the company. Retail sales have doubled from August to September and then are expected to triple by October, the company said. And to keep up with sales growth, the company’s employee count has grown 20% since July and is now to 120 employees.”
“In the past year, Ecobee has become the second best selling Internet-connected thermostat in the U.S., with 24% of the market, according to research firm NPD,” Tilley reports. “In the Internet-connected thermostat market, Ecobee is now ahead of Honeywell and behind the number one player, Google-owned Nest. (NPD doesn’t release the market share figures of Nest and Honeywell without permission from those companies.)”
“For Ecobee, one reason customers are so interested in HomeKit is that they know that any HomeKit device they buy will now work seamlessly with other HomeKit devices, Lombard said. ‘HomeKit really gives people confidence that they’re not buying into dead-end systems as they add more devices to their home,’ he said,” Tilley reports. “Ecobee’s thermostat comes with temperature sensors that users place around their home and the thermostat will adjust the temperature based on readings for those sensors. This is opposed to a thermostat like Nest’s, which is just taking temperature readings from the area around the device, not specific rooms away from the thermostat. Features like this let Ecobee beat out Nest in product reviews, such as this one from PC Magazine.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Wait, you mean aligning with the platform of people who have disposable income and the proven will to spend it leads to greater success that shackling yourself to an search engine/online advertisers’ privacy-trampling wannabe OS slapped onto knockoff handsets that are peddled to ignoramuses and/or cheapskates via endless “Buy One Get One Free” deals?
A Nest is the last smoke alarm you want. You want a quality HomeKit-compatible smoke alarm. — MacDailyNews, July 23, 2015
SEE ALSO:
Apple pulls Google’s Nest thermostat from stores with launch of HomeKit-compatible Ecobee 3 – July 23, 2015
First Apple-certified HomeKit-compliant devices launch – June 2, 2015
Google engineer trashes Tony Fadell’s precious Nest smoke alarm – February 19, 2015
With HomeKit and Honeywell’s Lyric, a Nest acquisition by Apple would have been foolish – June 18, 2014
Will Apple’s Internet of Things vision hurt a beautiful idea? With HomeKit, Apple promises easy home automation – June 6, 2014
Smart thermostat war heats up as Apple-partner Honeywell takes aim at Google’s Nest – June 13, 2014
Honeywell takes dead aim at Google’s Nest with new iPhone-compatible Lyric smart thermostat – June 10, 2014
Google to SEC: We could serve ads on thermostats, refrigerators, car dashboards, and more – May 21, 2014
Dead to me: Apple’s Schiller ‘unfollows’ Tony Fadell and Nest after Google acquisition – January 18, 2014
Interesting that Nest is not “keeping up.”
Whew, I just missed buying a Nest right before goog took it over! So glad I didn’t buy it! I avoid all things goog.
I had a NEST – was never very fond of it. The motion sensor part of it for detecting if someone was home, was problematic – say you’ve got people over, hanging out on your deck all night long on a nice muggy summer evening. If no one walks in front of that NEST every 30 mins, it will think no one is home, and stop running the a/c. Then when everyone has left, and you’re ready to hit the hay, you’ve got a nice warm and muggy house! AWESOME! I ended up linking a Honeywell WiFi-stat to my SmartThings system – which knows who is home, and where they are based off of GPS on iPhones. Similar to how this works, but for much less money.
Same here, was going to buy one that week. It’s too bad it got bought by google, it really is a nice looking thermostat. Can’t blame Fadell for taking the cash, but boy did he sell his soul to the devil…
Oh, I want this. Canadian, too!
I am in the planning process for a new home that will be a vacation home now and my primary residence in retirement. As such, I am looking at equipment and systems to specify for the design.
My HVAC will most probably be a split, ductless system with an inverter compressor (much more efficient than ducted systems) capable of running different temperatures in different rooms simultaneously. Are there any HomeKit enabled Thermostats capable of working with such a setup?
Like most here, Nest became a NoGo when they were swallowed by Google. The Ecobee looks promising, but I will have to find out if it can handle my setup.
Great for Ecobee, unless of course, they end up getting Sherlocked rather than acquired…..
…Jus’ sayin’….
I think Nest became initially popular via Apple’s customer base because it was developed by Tony “Mr. iPod” Fadell. Not sure that Google’s acquisition has brought much in the way of sales growth because of their ownership.
The Eccobee thermostat is on shelves at the Apple Store right now.
One reason HomeKit is gaining interest and sales is that, so far, it is secure technology. – – Unlike the IoT (Internet of Things) market in general, which has had infamous security flaws for years. (Great example: Baby monitors. OMG).