Today, Microsoft announced details of GLAS, the smart thermostat that"s made by Johnson Controls and runs Windows 10 IoT Core. The device will be available for pre-order beginning in March, for a price of $319.
It"s a Windows 10 device, so a key feature of the device is Cortana. You can say things like, "Hey, Cortana, set the temperature to 72 degrees", and it will be adjusted. Microsoft even called out that this is the latest device built with the Cortana Devices SDK, similar to the Harman Kardon Invoke. Unfortunately, Cortana still can"t differentiate between devices, so it"s entirely likely that when you say the above statement, your thermostat will adjust the temperature, but your Invoke will say something about how it can"t do that.
But that also means that it can control other smart home devices, such as lighting, by talking to the thermostat. You can also use it to manage your calendar, check the weather, traffic reports, and pretty much anything else that Cortana can do.
The device itself will continually monitor air quality and adjust settings for it, as long as it"s connected to the internet. Once it knows your settings and routines, it will know when you"re home and change the temperature accordingly, which is meant to save on energy, and of course, the money that the user spends on that energy.
And then there"s the design of GLAS. As the name implies, it"s a translucent OLED touchscreen. Aside from voice controls, you can also use a mobile application. It comes in at 5.6x5 inches, and Johnson says that it has a "crisp" resolution.
"Developing GLAS really allowed our team to think outside of the box, understand consumers and create a customer-backed design that is both beautiful in form and also very functional," said Don Albinger, vice president & general manager, building automation systems, Johnson Controls. "We wanted to take our experience of designing thermostats for industrial applications and enhance the features, function and user interface of the thermostat to create a more efficient and innovative way to control a space. Given that we invented the room thermostat back in the late 1800s, it"s something that Johnson Controls is naturally oriented to do."
Johnson Controls hasn"t provided a specific release date for the product, only saying that it will be available for pre-order in March and will be available in the first quarter of 2018, for $319.