In 2011, the Nest thermostat lit the fuse for "accessible" home automation. The device, with its rounded design, touchscreen, and use of algorithms, made a lasting impression—and saved money on your electricity bill! Home automation solutions existed long before Nest, but it must be recognized that the thermostat opened the smart home market to the general public.
Home automation is no longer fantastic at Google
It's now over for Nest thermostats in Europe. Google realized 14 years later that "heating systems in Europe are specific and have many hardware and software requirements." These constraints complicate "designing products adapted to the diversity of homes."
Consequently, Google will no longer launch new Nest thermostats on the old continent. It didn't smell good anyway since the presentation of the 4th generation model last August: the device was never marketed in Europe. The company continues to sell the 3rd generation (2015) and E (2018) models while stocks last. They will continue to receive security updates and remain compatible with the Nest and Google Home apps.
This will no longer be the case for the 1st and 2nd generation Nest thermostats: starting October 25, these models released in 2011 and 2012 respectively (2014 in Europe) will no longer be eligible for updates. It will become impossible to control them by voice with Google Assistant, nor from a smartphone. However, it will still be possible to adjust the temperature and change the schedule from the devices.
“As we consider how to meet your energy needs in the future,” Google explains, “It is becoming increasingly difficult to continue updating these products due to their age.”
To sweeten the pill, the company is offering owners of these thermostats discounts on the Nest Thermostat 4 in the United States and Canada, and on the Tado Smart Thermostat X in Europe, which is available with a 50% discount (it comes down to 100 euros).
Google is becoming less and less involved in home automation. In March, we learned that two other Nest devices will no longer be supported: the Nest Protect smoke and carbon monoxide detector, and the Nest x Yale lock.
Source: Google
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