There are plenty of gadgets that first spring to mind when you think about a "smart home." Light bulbs, cameras, maybe even automatic locks on your front door — a lot goes into upgrading your home, but for many of us, it started with our first smart thermostat. Controlling the climate of your house while away is a great way to save some cash, but the barrier to entry has always been pretty high. With Amazon's latest gadget, it's cheaper than ever to upgrade your heating and cooling system.For just $60, the Amazon Smart Thermostat is one of the most affordable smart thermostats on the market — even Wyze's entry into this field isn't priced this low. It was built in partnership with Resideo, the company behind Honeywell thermostats, but its design is more in line with the utilitarian approach you'd expect from Amazon. With a basic white plastic shell and glowing white LEDs, it's not the most beautiful piece of hardware we've ever seen — then again, it's just a thermostat.

As for what makes it a smart device, it all comes down to Alexa. With complete control through Amazon's mobile app or with voice commands through Echo speakers (there's no microphone on the unit itself), setting the temperature seems easy and flexible to your current situation. It also supports Alexa Hunches, controlling the temperature based on contextual information like leaving or entering the house. You can view all of your energy use from the dashboard within the Alexa app, which should give you a good idea of what to expect on that month's bill.

This thermostat does require a C-wire, though there's an optional adapter included in a bundle for $75 if necessary. It's up for pre-order at Amazon now, and it'll ship to users on November 4th.