Microsoft announces pre-order details for its Cortana-enabled thermostat
Hey, remember Microsoft Cortana, the digital assistant who's always at your beck and call? Well, now it can now warm up your house.
Microsoft and Johnson Controls have announced an official release date for GLAS, a smart thermostat featuring Microsoft Cortana, and powered by Windows 10 IoT Core, Microsoft's operating system optimized for smaller devices. Microsoft first unveiled the product in a video in July.
GLAS will be on display at CES 2018, coming up Jan. 9-12. The product will also be available for pre-order in March 2018 for $319, but you can sign up now to receive a notification when the product becomes available on the product's website.
GLAS users can use the product's OLED touchscreen display to control their homes' temperatures, monitor air quality, and check the weather. But you don't even need to get out of bed to use it -- all you have to do to lower the temperature is say "Hey Cortana, set the temperature to 65 degrees."
GLAS can also detect when you're not home, and will lower its consumption during those periods to save energy.
Cortana is not nearly as widespread, or universally recognized, as Amazon's Alexa, Google Assistant, or Apple's Siri. Its primary interaction with consumers is through Windows 10 on PCs, though it's enabled in a decent smart speaker and is apparently on its way to cars. This is its first foray into a smart thermostat.
We'll certainly be checking out the device at the conference, and for more complete coverage, you can follow us at CES 2018 right here.
Monica wrote for Mashable's Tech section with a focus on retail, internet of things, and the intersections of technology and social justice. She holds a degree in creative writing from Brown University, and has previously written for Dow Jones Media, the New York Post, Yahoo Finance, and others. In her free time, she can be found attempting to cook Asian food, buying board games, and looking for new hobbies.
