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Word leaked that Ecobee has now officially announced its fifth-generation thermostat that is now available for purchase.  Just like their previous version of Ecobee4, they will now replace most top picks for smart thermostats.

This is because this new model is rumored to have Alexa onboard, but Ecobee is saying that the thermostat is outfitted with a new and powerful speaker that will be offering a richer sound and wider dynamic range. This will be something far much more than what consumers would want to find in a normal thermostat.

I had the opportunity to get one of these SmartThermostats and I was surprised at how they are cheap in this listing here. You should definitely check them out.

Bluetooth Support for Ecobee 5^th Gen

And it will also be featuring the support of Bluetooth; this will mostly be important to the Ecobee 5^th generation users to stream music services from their favorite places like Spotify, amazon music, Pandora, and many others. We are waiting to see if this new Ecobee thermostat will be capable of being grouped in a multi-room audio configuration together with other smart speakers that are Alexa compatible.

Ecobee 5^th Gen Quad-core Processor

The new model of Ecobee thermostat will also feature a powerful quad-core processor that the company says will be able to enable the thermostat to operate three times faster than their previous model, the ecobee4. 

The homeowners that live in areas that have crowded Wi-Fi environments will be able to appreciate the presence of a dual-band 2.4 and 5GHz Wi-Fi adapter. This is a better addition compared to what the ecobee4 had, which was a 2.4GHz network.

Digital Microphones of Ecobee 5^th gen

Ecobee also says that their new Ecobee 5^thgen will feature digital microphones. This is even better and ads up to what was on the previous with analog mics. The wake word detection will now be improved on this new Ecobee 5^th generation.

The echo spatial detection will also be improved; this is the feature that enables the Ecobee 5^th gen to multiple echo smart speakers to determine which one is to the person that is speaking and giving the wake word or command. This will, in return, make the response time to be faster. There are also more Alexa features that are supported on the new Ecobee 5^th gen, and they include Alexa calling, drop-in, and messaging. 

Ecobee company will not stray far away from their winning formula this time; this new generation model will be compatible with Apple HomeKit and also capable of easily integrate with google assistant, IFTTT, and Samsung SmartThings.  The new model is available now and goes for under $250 with one smart sensor. These new sensors are available in two-packs. 

Alexa Calling, Messaging, and Drop-In

Like the other third-party Alexa devices that are available, ecobee4 did not support Alexa calling, drop-in, and messaging. These are new features that the Ecobee 5^th generation is offering now.  This is a welcome improvement to what was previously there before in the ecobee4. This enables the Ecobee 5^th gen to become even handier when you are calling the family for dinner.

Pros of the Ecobee 5^th Generation

• The model has a better speaker
• The model has full Alexa support
• There is an improved remote sensor on the thermostat
• The thermostat works with Spotify

Cons of the Ecobee 5^th Generation

• It is large compared to the previous models
• It has a big bezel

When the ecobee4 was released, it was the first smart home device to be in the market with Alexa that was not a smart speaker.  That was a very clever idea, and many more other companies have come to adopt the same in their market strategies. 

However, there were some core functions of Alexa that the companies did not have; this made the speakers not to be that great in the long run. 

But Ecobee has fixed that issue now, and they have done it even better with the Ecobee 5^th generation thermostat with voice control. I wish they could have just called it ecobee5; this is because the company has just added many more good features to this model, as you can identify.

The good thing about the 5^th generation Ecobee is the Alexa calling. When you wake the Alexa on the top of the Ecobee lights up, and waits for your command. That is very exciting.  Even when you have music playing through the Ecobee, you can still be able to speak in a conversational voice that is almost 15 feet away, and the Alexa will still be able to hear you and act on the command.

Ecobee 5^th gen Audio Quality

The speaker that was on the ecobee4 was a little tiny. This then meant that other than just asking Alexa questions, you did not want to do anything else with it. But this Ecobee 5^th generation is a bit beefier, and this makes it a passable entertainment device. 

I would put it on a par with some of the very good radios, or somewhere between the second and third generation echo dots. Although you are not going to use the thermostat to entertain your guests at a party, it is just important you know that it is good for playing music in the background.

Ecobee 5^th gen has now Spotify support in it; this joins Pandora, amazon music, TuneIn, SiriusXM, and iHeartRadio music services that are supported.

Ecobee 5^th Gen New Remote Sensor

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Although Alexa is good, the good part about having the Ecobee 5^th generation smart thermostats is the remote sensors. These are able to detect temperatures and room occupancy. Having this, you are even able to do some smart things like making sure every cold part of the house is warm.

These new Ecobee sensors that come with the thermostat have a design that is slightly smaller, and their battery life is also better, staying for up to 5years. This is because the battery is now a much larger one.

You can also get these new sensors in a pack here in the listing here; if you have the older sensor, they are also compatible, and it will be good not to incur extra costs.

Ecobee 5^th Gen Supports 2.4- and 5GHz Wi-Fi

The new 5^th gen now supports both 2.4 and 5GHz, and this is nice. If you have some streaming sticks that need greater, you should assign them to the 5GHz.

Ecobee 5^th Gen Energy-Saving Features

Ecobee uses sensors just like Nest; this helps it to detect if you are at home or not, and thus, it will adjust the temperatures accordingly. 

The other smart feature you will get is called follow me; this takes advantage of the devices remote sensors and detects the rooms that people are in so that it can adjust the heating and the cooling in that room.

Conclusion

The Ecobee SmartThermostat, 5^th generation, improves upon the two core features of the ecobee4. The fact that it now has full Alexa functionality and with a better speaker with remote sensors of a good range is nice.  I just wish they had Google assistant also built-in.