Nest absorbed into Google to better battle HomeKit, Alexa for home automation supremacy

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Google is merging the Nest and the native Google Home hardware team to "supercharge" the goal of conquering the smarthome market.




Google's Senior Vice President of Hardware Rick Osterloh made the announcement in a blog post on Wednesday afternoon. The move comes after Nest had "doubled its hardware portfolio" in a year, and sold more devices than the company had sold in the past two years.

In the post, Google says that:
The goal is to supercharge Nest's mission: to create a more thoughtful home, one that takes care of the people inside it and the world around it. By working together, we'll continue to combine hardware, software and services to create a home that's safer, friendlier to the environment, smarter and even helps you save money-- built with Google's artificial intelligence and the Assistant at the core.
"All of Google's investments in machine learning and AI, they can very clearly benefit Nest products. It just makes sense to be developing them together," Osterloh said in an interview with Cnet about the merging. "It's the natural thing to evolve to."

The company notes that the Google and Nest teams already work closely, so little, if any, disruption is likely.

Before his ultimate departure from Apple following the iPod's development, Tony Fadell set out to build a new home, and in the process found a market opportunity for a smart thermostat to better control climate control systems. As a result, Fadell founded Nest Labs in 2010.

Shortly thereafter, in 2011, the first generation Nest Learning Thermostat shipped. On May 30, 2012, the Nest appeared at the Apple online and retail stores started stocking it.

On January 13, 2014, Google purchased Nest Labs for $3.2 billion. Apple pulled the Nest from store shelves on July 22 of 2015.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 40
    Still a joke.
    Just like they super charged Motorola!
    edited February 2018 mike1libertyforalllolliver[Deleted User]watto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 40
    fallenjtfallenjt Posts: 4,056member
    Nest thermostat sucks for the price and implementation . I hate the dial and click. Had it for a month and got rid of it. Ecobee blows it out of water!
    jbdragonlolliverlostkiwiwatto_cobrarussw
  • Reply 3 of 40
    Screw Nest & no HomeKit!  Bought ecobee 3 and much happier!
    magman1979sirozhalolliverlostkiwiwatto_cobrarussw
  • Reply 4 of 40
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,623member
    Makes much more sense than making a show of being hands off.

    "But ... But... what about the data!!? OMG!!" I don't have the first concern that somehow Google means me harm, or planning to break into my home when they think I'm away, or selling personal info about me or my home to anyone else. Integrating Nest with Google Home rather than treating them as a 3rd party like they do now is better for me as an owner of both. Home control should be easier than it is, and this a a step towards that. 
    JWSC
  • Reply 5 of 40
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,930member
    Screw Nest & no HomeKit!  Bought ecobee 3 and much happier!
    Same here...Ecobee 3 works awesome with HomeKit and its extremely easy to install and setup. Even the sensors for the individual rooms are very easy to setup, very much like Apple would do. 
    StrangeDaysmagman1979lolliverlostkiwiwatto_cobrarussw
  • Reply 6 of 40
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,930member

    gatorguy said:
    Makes much more sense than making a show of being hands off.

    "But ... But... what about the data!!? OMG!!" I don't have the first concern that somehow Google means me harm, or planning to break into my home when they think I'm away, or selling personal info about me or my home to anyone else. Integrating Nest with Google Home rather than treating them as a 3rd party like they do now is better for me as an owner of both. Home control should be easier than it is, and this a a step towards that. 
    I'm sure Google is working on finding a way to implement data gathering with Nest. Google cannot survive without its data collecting and ads business. Never touch anything Google with a 100ft pole! I don't want ads about my furnace, or filters or whatever since it sees its running all the time or something. 
    edited February 2018 StrangeDaysrob53magman1979TomElolliverlostkiwiwatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 40
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,623member
    macxpress said:

    gatorguy said:
    Makes much more sense than making a show of being hands off.

    "But ... But... what about the data!!? OMG!!" I don't have the first concern that somehow Google means me harm, or planning to break into my home when they think I'm away, or selling personal info about me or my home to anyone else. Integrating Nest with Google Home rather than treating them as a 3rd party like they do now is better for me as an owner of both. Home control should be easier than it is, and this a a step towards that. 
    I'm sure Google is working on finding a way to implement data gathering with Nest. Google cannot survive without its data collecting and ads business. Never touch anything Google with a 100ft pole! I don't want ads about my furnace, or filters or whatever since it sees its running all the time or something. 
    You don't have to see ads at all if they bother you so much. I don't. Better aligning Nest, Google Home and Google Assistant can only benefit me. 
    JWSC
  • Reply 8 of 40
    maestro64maestro64 Posts: 5,043member
    And better to spy on you my little pretty....
    StrangeDaysmagman1979lolliverlostkiwi
  • Reply 9 of 40
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,623member
    maestro64 said:
    And better to spy on you my little pretty....
    To do what? LOL. 
    JWSC
  • Reply 10 of 40
    maestro64maestro64 Posts: 5,043member
    Screw Nest & no HomeKit!  Bought ecobee 3 and much happier!

    I personally would trust Honeywell over any of these companies they understand environmental controls better than anyone. It took them some time to get on the bandwagon for smart controls with an smartphone but they have good solution and it works with all kinds of heating can cooling systems.

    https://yourhome.honeywell.com/Lyric-T6-Pro-Thermostat-TH6320WF2003-TH6220WF2006

    The issue is who is the master of the house and get to control the temperature, and when the Master is gone then what does spouse have to deal with hot or cool temps while you are gone. These systems has to be able to deal with when multiply people are in the house and what to do when one or all are not there at any given time.

    edited February 2018
  • Reply 11 of 40
    I LOVE my 1st Generation Nest but really, REALLY wish they'd support HomeKit.

    I KNOW they have their own, equivalent layer of software they're prefer I use but I will NOT be moving to Google/Android any time soon.

    I'm actually in the middle of moving my home and one of the first things I did was remove the thermostat from the wall and replace it with some $25 POS from Home Depot as that nifty little piece of hardware is coming to the new place with me!

    I LOVE the interface and info it comes up with but HomeKit is now the "bar" I use for buying SmartHome peripherals. I've recently bought security cameras and doorbells - ALL of which are HomeKit compatible. Door locks and (possibly) garage door openers will be next.

    Google, PLEASE realize that you can and will alienate customers if you push your standards above all else at this crucial point in time (ie the market for smart home devices).
    StrangeDaysdws-2
  • Reply 12 of 40
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 13,085member
    No HomeKit, no sale. 

    I bought gen1 but won’t be replacing it. If google doesn’t want to play in the walled garden I’m sure not leaving it for their corporate strategic benefit. 
    magman1979lolliverlostkiwiwatto_cobrarussw
  • Reply 13 of 40
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,623member
    maestro64 said:
    Screw Nest & no HomeKit!  Bought ecobee 3 and much happier!

    I personally would trust Honeywell over any of these companies they understand environmental controls better than anyone. It took them some time to get on the bandwagon for smart controls with an smartphone but they have good solution and it works with all kinds of heating can cooling systems.

    https://yourhome.honeywell.com/Lyric-T6-Pro-Thermostat-TH6320WF2003-TH6220WF2006
    ...if "spying on you" is a concern you might want to read under what circumstances Honeywell might be sharing your use of their product and the types of information they collect about you and your home. I think you'll find it's not unlike what Nest collects, and the circumstances under which it can be shared. . 

    IMHO anyone who decides to involve themselves in home automation whether it be a thermostat, or smartspeaker, or door lock, or a full security system should obviously understand some user data is going to be involved, and therefor pay attention to the pertinent privacy policies and sharing declarations. 
    edited February 2018 russw
  • Reply 14 of 40
    I remember when Nest was alright. Then Google bought them and there was panic. Nest said that they would continue to operate on their own despite the acquisition. I knew that wouldn't last.

    https://www.theverge.com/2014/1/13/5305430/interview-tony-fadell-nest-google-acquisition
    StrangeDayslolliverlostkiwiwatto_cobra
  • Reply 15 of 40
    roakeroake Posts: 821member
    gatorguy said:
    maestro64 said:
    And better to spy on you my little pretty....
    To do what? LOL. 
    To sell your privacy
    lolliver[Deleted User]watto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 40
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,623member
    roake said:
    gatorguy said:
    maestro64 said:
    And better to spy on you my little pretty....
    To do what? LOL. 
    To sell your privacy
    Your private data is not for sale by Google. Never has been. You've confused them with Experian. And Transunion. And your State Licensing agencies. And thousands of others. Google sells ad placement, not data. 
     https://privacy.google.com/your-data.html

    Amazing that so many people are so anxious to spread around "someone said" as fact without ever bothering to check, or perhaps even caring in the first place if it's true or not. Truth and knowledge wasn't the goal when they repeat it . :/
    edited February 2018 muthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 17 of 40
    jimh2jimh2 Posts: 661member
    fallenjt said:
    Nest thermostat sucks for the price and implementation . I hate the dial and click. Had it for a month and got rid of it. Ecobee blows it out of water!
    To be clear...you do not like the design, which has nothing to do with how it performs. The design goal of the dial and click was to emulate traditional round thermostats, which it does. The Ecobee is a totally different design as are every other smart thermostat is.
  • Reply 18 of 40
    jimh2jimh2 Posts: 661member
    In the end merging into Google will be detrimental to Nest because as we know Google never finishes, much less polishes any product.
    sirozhalolliverlostkiwiwatto_cobra
  • Reply 19 of 40
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,623member
    jimh2 said:
    In the end merging into Google will be detrimental to Nest because as we know Google never finishes, much less polishes any product.
    The two are not "merging" with Nest disappearing into the Google abyss. Their hardware team is merging with the Google hardware team to work under Rick Osterloh. It should speed up the somewhat laggy development of new Nest products. 

    EDIT: I stand corrected. The entire Nest team including software development is being moved to Osterloh's domain, so I was wrong.
    edited February 2018 russw
  • Reply 20 of 40
    jimh2 said:
    In the end merging into Google will be detrimental to Nest because as we know Google never finishes, much less polishes any product.
    And yet oddly enough, they have been part of Google for several years and offer finished, polished products through multiple generations. Not to mention Chromecast, Home, and Pixel devices.
    russw
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