Any company can make a connected thermostat, but only Johnson Controls made a connected thermostat with hexagons on it. The York Touchscreen Thermostat, which was announced today, is a Wi-Fi thermostat with one really standout feature: a "patent-pending hexagon interface."

Let me describe this patent-pending interface to you: it looks like a beehive, or a Catan board, or some weird space strategy game that's beyond your understanding, except it's just used to control the temperature in your home. No bartering for sheep. No sending mining fleets out to Gamma 047 on a promethium run. All you do is tap a hexagon and raise or lower the temperature in your wonderful home. Simple.

Imagine this York Touchscreen Thermostat with patent-pending hexagon interface in your home. Imagine opening up the connected York Thermostat 280 app with patent-pending hexagon interface, and being able to tap hexagons on the run to remotely control your home. Imagine your friends looking at your phone and thinking, "Wow, I wish I could use a patent-pending hexagon interface or play a space exploration game right now."

Remember that while Johnson Controls' patent-pending hexagon interface remains patent pending, other companies could try to get in the game with their own hexagon-controlled smart thermostats. But they would be foolish, because one day this may become a patented hexagon interface.

The York Touchscreen Thermostat with patent-pending hexagon interface is now available throughout the US. Homeowners won't be able to buy it directly, however — they'll have to go through a contractor. If only there were a novel interface to simplify that, too.