Ecobee Integrates August and Yale
Ecobee is best known for making smart thermostats, but recently the company partnered with smart lock makers August and Yale to integrate control of the devices into the Ecobee app. The feature, available only to subscribers to Ecobee’s Smart Security service, adds an unlock button from the Ecobee app’s live doorbell camera view so visitors can be let into the home when they are detected on the camera.
The Circana Take:
- While this is a minor advancement, the integration of August and Yale locks represents a sizeable convenience to owners of these devices.
- Smart Lock ownership among security camera and smart doorbell users is rapidly growing, smart lock makers can tap into these owner groups via greater interoperability with the device platforms.
Eero Brings Wi-Fi Outside
Eero’s new Outdoor 7 Wi-Fi extender is an IP66-rated outdoor device that supports Wi-Fi 7. The extender can withstand snow, rain, and summer heat to connect security cameras, smart lights and network speakers that might be placed in a backyard or other outdoor space. The Outdoor 7 features a power-over-ethernet port and can be mounted to stucco, vinyl, wood and other surfaces.
The Circana Take:
- As more households acquire outdoor smart home devices like smart lighting and security cameras, challenges related to Wi-Fi coverage are bound to impact some users.
- Solutions for outdoor connectivity will help homeowners with big outdoor spaces as well as those with home layouts that are a challenge for indoor wireless signals.