Ecobee jumps into voice-controlled light switch trend

Smart home company Ecobee is the latest brand to jump into the voice-controlled light switch trend with its new Ecobee Switch+.

Ecobee’s smart light switch supports Amazon Alexa via its far-field voice detection microphones. With Alexa Voice Services, the lighting fixture can understand speech commands while connecting and controlling a range of intelligent home appliances and lights. The Switch+ also has the capability to work with Apple’s HomeKit.

The Ecobee Switch+ has started shipping end of March and preorders went for $99 in the US market and $119 in Canada.

It has just been almost a year since innovators, Amazon for instance when it filed a patent, envisioned voice-controlled light switches, and now such products have already been a hit in the smart home market. Lots of companies already followed the trend with their own ways of integrating voice recognition and lighting control, or like Ecobee, have made their products compatible with AI assistants like Alexa.

Ecobee’s move, which also follows GE’s announcement of voice-controlled light switches in January and the emergence of Alexa- and Google Home-compatible models from China manufacturers, shows that light switches are the next hottest control hub for smart homes.