Thermostat without internet

I just purchased a Wyze thermostat for my new home. I have not installed wifi in the new condo as I am doing renovations.

Can I go ahead and replace the old thermostat with my new Wyze before I have wifi installed?

you need wifi to setup, if u have a 2nd phone, you could use hotspot for the thermostat to connect to, then once setup, it will work w/o wifi

Isn’t this a pretty poor design? Nothing like having a fully functional HVAC system locked behind a not-so-smart device in sweltering heat.