Nest introduces third-gen Thermostat with better display, Farsight wakeup
Google's Nest Labs on Tuesday upgraded its signature product, the Thermostat, with features such as a bigger, sharper display, and longer-range automatic wakeup.
The third-generation Thermostat has a 480x480 screen rated at 229 pixels per inch. The device has simultaneously slimmed down however, coming in at 1.21 inches thick.
The new wakeup feature is called Farsight, and will show the time or temperature when someone walks in the room -- with the former having the option of a digital or analog-style clock face. Previously, people had to be within three feet of a Thermostat for it to turn on.
Another addition is Furnace Heads-Up, which will notify users about potential problems with their furnace and/or air filter by detecting activation and shutoff patterns. These alerts are pushed to the company's iOS and Android apps, which have been updated to support the new hardware.
Furnace Heads-Up will eventually be available to first- and second-generation Thermostats, but only through an update coming later this year.
The third-generation device is now on sale via the Nest store for $249. In some locations though power companies are offering rebates and rewards, or even giving away the product as a sign-up bonus.
The third-generation Thermostat has a 480x480 screen rated at 229 pixels per inch. The device has simultaneously slimmed down however, coming in at 1.21 inches thick.
The new wakeup feature is called Farsight, and will show the time or temperature when someone walks in the room -- with the former having the option of a digital or analog-style clock face. Previously, people had to be within three feet of a Thermostat for it to turn on.
Another addition is Furnace Heads-Up, which will notify users about potential problems with their furnace and/or air filter by detecting activation and shutoff patterns. These alerts are pushed to the company's iOS and Android apps, which have been updated to support the new hardware.
Furnace Heads-Up will eventually be available to first- and second-generation Thermostats, but only through an update coming later this year.
The third-generation device is now on sale via the Nest store for $249. In some locations though power companies are offering rebates and rewards, or even giving away the product as a sign-up bonus.
Comments
'Yeah, we know, AI.'
"The new wakeup feature is called Farsight, and will show the time or temperature when someone walks in the room -- with the former having the option of a digital or analog-style clock face. Previously, people had to be within three feet of a Thermostat for it to turn on."
Why on earth would I want it to light up whenever anybody is in the room. It certainly should not be the center of attention. Three feet was ideal. I hope this can be turned off.
Offering rebates - ding dong
1) Is there any evidence Nest "spies" on you any more than it did before Google bought the company?
2) I do think this announcement isn't a coincidence and do think people should probably wait to see if Apple has anything to offer in this arena, but I fail to see where there is any mention of anything called AppleHub, such a device being priced at $199, or why it would make sense for this "hub" device to also be the thermostat.
1) How is news about a potential Apple competitor not relevant to Apple? Who said that all news on AI has to have Apple as the primary topic? You've been hear long enough to know AI has always covered other interesting companies that compete with Apple.
2) I do. I'm also liking the new initiatives and changes they released today.
1) Is there any evidence Nest "spies" on you any more than it did before Google bought the company?
Is it plausible then that the level of "spying" was sufficiently up to par that Google did not feel the need to up its level?
I won't buy one unless they start displaying ads.
AppleHub will be announced next week Tuesday. It will control appliances with HomeKit.
It certainly will not be called "AppleHub." How boorish.
Quite possibly, but I don't recall anyone complaining about Nest having a motion sensor before Google bought them.
You're posts are the worst.
OMG this is Google we're talking about. Of course it'll spy on you.
According to your posts you've claimed something called AppleHub will be announced next week that will cost exactly $199 and will control your thermostat without needing any other purchase, as noted with your $249 reference to Nest.
For a third generation product that has been almost 3 years since the last, this is not much of a improvement. It does not solve any of the many reported shortcomings of the last genereation reported by users. It does appear to be better equiped to track you as you walk around, and in exchange for this you get to know what time it is. Google at Googles best.
I agree. I have two 1st-generation Nest thermostats at our home (upstairs/downstairs) that work decently well (at least much better than the original 20-year old thermostats). What I would like is a remote sensor that I can place in the main or most important living area of each floor, and have Nest adjust to that. The current thermostat locations are not the best, and I am not about the rewire the house. Instead, I have had to guess what to set each thermostat to get the needed effect in the area of consideration. This is where the iOS app has been essential, since I am constantly adjusting the thermostats based on where people are in the house. I know there is a another brand of thermostat that has remote sensors, but I am not ready to reinvest in different but underwhelming technology.
Is it plausible that some folks don't need any evidence before tossing vague denigrations around as tho they're fact?
Google makes 99% of their profits from advertising and data mining. Pretty obvious what they will do with the Nest data.
Actually, in all fairness, I think it's only 91%.
How is this pertinent to Apple news? No one gives a frack about Google.
If AI posted news about Android taking a big dump, you'd care. How is this any different? I'm not a fan of Nest, and certainly wouldn't buy one because Google has it's claws in it, but I think it's okay to read about a potential competitor.
I'm currently on my third warranty replacement Nest thermostat since my original purchase over three years ago. The first one was DOA. The second, third, and current Nest all display inaccurate humidity readings. Even after three years of tweaking, they still don't handle heat pumps with emergency heat as efficiently as the "dumb" thermostat originally included with my system. I've noticed that the forced firmware updates tend to add useless features that do little more than break things that previously worked fine. The ONLY two reasons I still have it on the wall is because it is pretty to look at and I can (usually) change the temperature without getting out of bed (except when it decides to go into a "deep" sleep where it refuses to connect - which doesn't happen often, but always seems to be when I need it most). Sometimes, it "forgets" to turn on the heat/air until I walk by it and wake it up. This 3rd generation update is nowhere near is exciting as the 2nd generation (itself not much of an upgrade).
Meh.