Nest's Tony Fadell says it's 'up to Apple' if company wants to keep ties following Google buyout

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
While Nest Labs has had a close relationship with Apple in the past, all that could change after the company was purchased by rival Google. But Nest CEO and former Apple executive Tony Fadell has said in a new interview that it's entirely "up to Apple" how things proceed from here.

Fadell


Fadell spoke with Bloomberg Television on Friday, where he discussed his company's recent acquisition by search giant Google. The Nest CEO was asked about his company's relationship with Apple, a company that he played a prominent role at in the past when he helped create the first iPod.

Nest has no plans to pull its products from Apple's retail stores or abandon iOS support for its devices, Fadell said. But as for the continued presence of Nest products at Apple stores in the future, he said that's a decision Apple has to make.

"We want to make sure that we offer those things to them (Apple customers), and it's for Apple to figure out whether or not they want to continue," Fadell said.



The Nest CEO referred to Apple as a "valued partner," and noted that he received congratulations from a number of his former colleagues at the company when the Google deal was announced earlier this month.

Google announced its purchase of Nest Labs for $3.2 billion earlier this month. In addition to the smart thermostat named Nest, the company also makes Protect, which is a connected smoke detector.

The Nest Learning Thermostat was originally an exclusive Apple Store product, reflecting the close relationship the company had with Apple. But since the Google deal was announced, Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller "unfollowed" both Fadell and the Nest company's official Twitter accounts, offering a public signal as to how Apple officials feel about the deal.

However, Apple has not yet offered any sort of public comment on the matter, and has not signaled that it will pull Nest from its store shelves. As of Friday, both the Nest thermostat and Protect are still listed for sale on the company's website.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 89
    cpsrocpsro Posts: 3,192member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post



    "We want to make sure that we offer those things to them (Apple customers), and it's for Apple to figure out whether or not they want to continue," Fadell said.

    Well, "duh!"

     

    And "meh"

  • Reply 2 of 89
    quadra 610quadra 610 Posts: 6,757member
    No shit, Tony.

    And what a ridiculous statement to make. Your company was bought out by a competitor, thus doing away with any reason for them to keep any meaningful ties with your company *by default*.

    Looks like the Google brain cell decimator (aka Schmidt Syndrome) is already well at work on Tony, however.
  • Reply 3 of 89
    It's a thermostat. A well designed, internet-connected thermostat, but a thermostat. BFD.
  • Reply 4 of 89
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    I'm waiting for Tony's media tour to finally be over. Still can't believe Google paid $3B for him when Apple got Steve back for only $400M.
  • Reply 5 of 89
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    It's a thermostat. A well designed, internet-connected thermostat, but a thermostat. BFD.
    Yeah, well designed by a 3rd party - Fred Bould of Bould design.
  • Reply 6 of 89

    I'm betting that Google wanted Tony, not Nest or Protect.  Sure, the connected home will at some point in the future be meaningful dollars-wise for lots of businesses, but a thermometer and smoke detector (at the very high end of the market) are not likely to drive enough volume to make it worth $3B.

  • Reply 7 of 89
    quadra 610 wrote: »
    No shit, Tony.

    And what a ridiculous statement to make. Your company was bought out by a competitor, thus doing away with any reason for them to keep any meaningful ties with your company *by default*.

    Looks like the Google brain cell decimator (aka Schmidt Syndrome) is already well at work on Tony, however.

    Seems like a big overreaction to me. The 'ties' as discussed are selling Nest products in Apple Stores—not some kind of profound collaboration. They're still, for the time being, extremely well designed products which reflect Apple standards. If they're dropped from the Apple Store it wouldn't be because they don't have a place there as products which add value to iOS and reflect Apple design principles.

    That could change if all of Tony's talk about their ToS, principles, and privacy are thrown out the window and the Nest becomes another fountain of data for Google to sell and advertise with.

    jmgregory1 wrote: »
    I'm betting that Google wanted Tony, not Nest or Protect.  Sure, the connected home will at some point in the future be meaningful dollars-wise for lots of businesses, but a thermometer and smoke detector (at the very high end of the market) are not likely to drive enough volume to make it worth $3B.

    I doubt they would spend $3.2B for Tony.
  • Reply 8 of 89
    Google wants to know what time you get up in the middle of the night to take a pee.
  • Reply 9 of 89
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    The godfather of the iPod or the father of the iPod?
  • Reply 10 of 89
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Quadra 610 View Post



    No shit, Tony.



    And what a ridiculous statement to make. Your company was bought out by a competitor, thus doing away with any reason for them to keep any meaningful ties with your company *by default*.



    Looks like the Google brain cell decimator (aka Schmidt Syndrome) is already well at work on Tony, however.

     From what I can tell he was asked a question regarding the status of Nest's relationship with Apple and he responded.  Not like he just made the statement out of the blue.  It was an obvious response to a ridiculous question - not a ridiculous statement.

     

    I bet if Tim Cook was asked how he felt about Samsung copying them, the response would be pretty obvious as well.  Wouldn't make Tim Cook an idiot.

  • Reply 11 of 89
    bobschlobbobschlob Posts: 1,074member
    "Nest has no plans to pull its products from Apple's retail stores or abandon iOS support for its devices, Fadell said."

    Was this a question someone actually posed to him??

    "Hey, are you going to stop selling Nest and start pulling it from store shelves?
  • Reply 12 of 89
    mhiklmhikl Posts: 471member

    Dump ‘em.

  • Reply 13 of 89

    I say break the ties.

     

    Apple does not need anymore partnerships with Google.

    They should try to remove the search dependency and use their own search ASAP.

  • Reply 14 of 89
    bobschlobbobschlob Posts: 1,074member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by LordJohnWhorfin View Post



    It's a thermostat. A well designed, internet-connected thermostat, but a thermostat. BFD.

    You've just shown you don't know what the hell it is.

  • Reply 15 of 89
    dimmokdimmok Posts: 359member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AppleSauce007 View Post

     

    I say break the ties.

     

    Apple does not need anymore partnerships with Google.

    They should try to remove the search dependency and use their own search ASAP.


    Yes...and a good search engine for Apple to buy....Yahoo!

  • Reply 16 of 89
    bobschlobbobschlob Posts: 1,074member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by mhikl View Post

     

    Dump ‘em.


    Should Apple dump the related iOS Apps as well. Wonder how all the people who bought a Nest on Apple's hype of the product would feel about that?

  • Reply 17 of 89
    Apple has no choice but to pull Nest products now... they are essentially Google products now.
  • Reply 18 of 89
    paxmanpaxman Posts: 4,729member

    They sell them at Home Depot now so I'm not sure how much it matters if it disappears from the Apple Store shelves.

  • Reply 19 of 89
    paxmanpaxman Posts: 4,729member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by BobSchlob View Post

     

    Should Apple dump the related iOS Apps as well. Wonder how all the people who bought a Nest on Apple's hype of the product would feel about that?


    Why would they? On what grounds? There are many googlecentric apps out there.

  • Reply 20 of 89
    creepcreep Posts: 80member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by jmgregory1 View Post

     

    I'm betting that Google wanted Tony, not Nest or Protect.  Sure, the connected home will at some point in the future be meaningful dollars-wise for lots of businesses, but a thermometer and smoke detector (at the very high end of the market) are not likely to drive enough volume to make it worth $3B.


    This. This. And This.  The money is for the brand (and Fadell's creativity) moreso than their current stable of products.  Of course, it seems counterintuitive to buy an up-and-comer when their early adopters are by and large customers of one of your chief competitors.  Did Google really expect a less-than-toxic reaction from the general public?

     

    As for Fadell personally?  I say great for him.  Who among us would turn down a multibillion dollar offer?  And it's not like Apple was knocking.

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