The idea of a connected home — one smart enough to know your schedule, your routines, when you come and go, and adjust itself to meet your every need — is a decades-old concept. But in a world where companies are making refrigerators that you can send tweets from, we’re still sorely missing truly intelligent home appliances. Apple and Google are trying — Apple with its just-announced HomeKit iOS features and Google with its purchase of Nest — but there still isn’t a complete vision from either company.

Now, the massive industrial conglomerate / prototypical thermostat maker Honeywell is rethinking the way it tackles home automation with Lyric. It’s a $279 Wi-Fi thermostat (available today to purchase through HVAC contractors; it’ll be available in Lowe’s stores by August) that is one of the most visually appealing products in the space, as well as an obvious response to the Nest Learning thermostat. But perhaps more importantly, Lyric is also a platform. The company’s ambition is to launch a full suite of Lyric products that can all be controlled your smartphone.