Amazon challenges Nest with smart thermostat that’s just $59

Amazon's Smart Thermostat, unveiled at the Amazon event

(Image credit: Amazon)

Nest and Ecobee have a new challenger in the Amazon Smart Thermostat, a new $59 device that will control your heating and air conditioning system.

The Amazon Smart Thermostat looks fairly simple: The main face of the thermostat shows the temperature in large numbers, with up and down arrows beneath. In between the arrows is a small circle to change modes.

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Amazon Smart Thermostat: Price and availability

Amazon's smart thermostat is currently available for preorder on Amazon.com, and will ship on November 4. It costs $59.99 without a C-Wire adapter; if you need the adapter, the price increases to $74.99.

Amazon Smart Thermostat: Design

Amazon's Smart Thermostat is basically a square with rounded edges — more like Ecobee's thermostat than the ones made by Nest. Amazon said it partnered with Resideo (Honeywell Home) to design the device; indeed, it looks similar to some of Honeywell's devices, themselves inexpensive smart thermostats.

It measures 3.6 x 3.6 x 0.8 inches, making it smaller than the Ecobee SmartThermostat, but larger than the Nest Learning Thermostat.

Amazon's device is only available in white, so it's a clean look, but may stand out if you have darker walls.

Amazon Smart Thermostat: Features

Like some other smart thermostats, Amazon's will work with Alexa, so you can create routines for it to change the temperature. The Amazon Smart Thermostat will also rely on Alexa hunches to adjust the temperature automatically when it thinks you're home or away.

Unlike the Ecobee SmartThermostat, the Amazon Smart Thermostat does not have Alexa built in, so you'll need an Echo device if you want to control it using your voice.

Also, Amazon's thermostat doesn't support remote sensors, so you can't adjust the heat or cooling based on the temperature in a room other than the one that the thermostat is located. However, many of Amazon's newer smart speakers have thermometers built in, so we suspect it's only a matter of time until this feature is available.

Amazon Smart Thermostat: Outlook

While the Amazon Smart Thermostat isn't as smart as those made by Nest or Ecobee, it looks to be smart enough for a device that's just $59.99. It's a little surprising that Amazon didn't build Alexa into the device itself, or that it's only coming in one color option, but its low price makes it very attractive for those who want a smart thermostat, but didn't want to spend upwards of $200.

Will it make our list of the best smart thermostats? Time will tell.

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Michael A. Prospero is the U.S. Editor-in-Chief for Tom’s Guide. He oversees all evergreen content and oversees the Homes, Smart Home, and Fitness/Wearables categories for the site. In his spare time, he also tests out the latest drones, electric scooters, and smart home gadgets, such as video doorbells. Before his tenure at Tom's Guide, he was the Reviews Editor for Laptop Magazine, a reporter at Fast Company, the Times of Trenton, and, many eons back, an intern at George magazine. He received his undergraduate degree from Boston College, where he worked on the campus newspaper The Heights, and then attended the Columbia University school of Journalism. When he’s not testing out the latest running watch, electric scooter, or skiing or training for a marathon, he’s probably using the latest sous vide machine, smoker, or pizza oven, to the delight — or chagrin — of his family.