UK's leading energy supplier, British Gas unveiled its all-new and next-generation thermostat for its associated home brand Hive along with a host of other smart home devices.
Other prominent smart home offerings include upgraded Hive smartphone app and a league of soon to be rolled out smart home devices such as window and door sensors, motion detectors, plugs, and light bulbs.
British Gas seems to be striding good after its recent acquisition of AlertMe, a smart home platform provider. All the new smart home devices are designed to be compatible with existing Hive smart home hub and are exclusively powered by smart home platform provider AlertMe Honeycomb. This clearly indicates British Gas' endeavors to emerge as the leader in the budding smart home sector.
In a statement, British Gas director Kassir Hussain explained that the company wants to enrol all their products onto Honeycomb Platform. "As we roll it out, we'll start working with several trusted partners and brands", the statement said.
According to BBC, British Gas roped in Swiss product designer Yves Behar to work on the appearance and feel of its recently announced smart home devices. Mr. Behar is the man behind designing renowned consumer devices such as the Jawbox fitness band and Jambox wire-free speaker.
The new upgraded smart home device from Hive is the company's second version of thermostat that works on internet connectivity allowing the users to remotely control home's temperature through the Hive smartphone app.
In the same BBC article, Mr. Behar was explained that he refrained from including touchscreen in the new thermostats for Hive, as he found touchscreen a distraction.
Engadget believes Hive appears to hold the release of a few newly-announced smart home devices, which infers that users will only be able to buy the next-gen thermostat for now, until the company rolls out lights, plugs and sensors this autumn.
British Gas is taking us to the age of internet of things where not only high-end homes or the affluent class can avail of.
"We at British Gas are striding on a goal of making connected homes a reality for as many as British homes possible," Hussain said.
Join the Conversation