Google announced that it will officially stop supporting the first and second-gen Nest Learning Thermostats, meaning that from the end of October, these smart thermostats won’t be so smart.
These devices, which date back to 2011 and 2012 (and the 2014 European version of the 2nd-gen model), helped kickstart the smart home boom, but after more than a decade, they’re being left behind.
After the cutoff, you won’t be able to control the old thermostats through the Google Home or Nest apps, and voice commands with Google Assistant will also stop working.
The good news is that you will still be able to walk up to the thermostat and change the temperature, settings, and schedules manually, just like you did in the 1990s.
To soften the blow, Google says it’ll be emailing eligible users with discounts for a newer model. In the US, customers can get $130 off the fourth-gen Nest Learning Thermostat, which normally sells for $279.99. Canadians will see an even steeper cut of $160 off the same model.
In Europe, where Google is pulling back even harder, the company is offering 50% off the Tado Smart Thermostat X, a newer option that can integrate with Google Home.
Google isn’t sugarcoating the situation for European users, stating there are no new Nest thermostats planned for the region.
In a blog post announcing the move, the Google Nest team said European systems “are unique and have a variety of hardware and software requirements that make it challenging to build for the diverse set of homes” but said that third-gen Nest Learning Thermostat and Nest Thermostat E will stay on sale in Europe while supplies last and will continue getting security updates.
The announcement is another reminder of the downside of connected gadgets, which rely on the cloud to fully operate. Even iconic products have an expiration date, and when the cloud connection goes dark, the smart part of the smart home can quickly become pretty dumb.
Fourteen years is a decent run for tech gear, but whether that feels like enough time for something as fundamental as a thermostat is another question.
