After demonstrating their Cortana virtual assistant for cars and home last May, Microsoft is now unveiling GLAS. GLAS is a smart thermostat that rivals Nest and Honeywell’s Lyric. The unveiling comes through a minute-long YouTube video, showing an elegant wall-mounted touch-screen device. It has a semi-transparent screen and although larger than a Nest, has more versatile controls and features.
Made in partnership with Johnson Controls
Johnson Controls built the sleek GLAS thermostat, utilizing Microsoft technologies inside. These technologies include their Azure cloud platform, Cortana voice assistant and Windows IoT core. The latter is a Windows 10-based operating system that is optimized for miniature devices. Microsoft made partnerships with other companies before to create smart products. Harman Kardon for example, is working on their Invoke speakers. This Amazon Echo rival has a Fall 2017 release date.
Johnson Controls invented the world’s first thermostat so Microsoft’s choice of partner to reinvent the device makes a lot of sense. The GLAS is capable of more than just setting and keeping home temperature settings. It can also detect air quality and adjust accordingly. The device boasts an advanced voice-activated Cortana AI for hands-free control.
Microsoft has not made an announcement to the pricing and availability yet.
GLAS Smart Thermostat Video
You know anything done by Microsoft is going to be buggy, insecure, expensive and generally shit.