Nest has been the leader in smart thermostats and smoke detectors. Their products are very attractive with awesome features, even if they are a bit pricey. Google is not new to the smart home market, but they haven’t accomplished much in the field. Will acquiring Nest finally bring more results?
Google is set to purchase Nest for $3.2 billion USD. The Search Giant aims to improve the company and bring more smart products to homes across the world. Google has tried moving into the smart home market with Android@Home, but the project never came to fruition (I am till waiting for my smart light bulbs).
The acquisition of Nest will ensure these products keep getting manufactured and actually reach homes. Next is well-established and already have their thermostat and smoke detector available for purchase. We are sure they won’t be stopping any time soon.
Will Chrome and Chrome OS play a big part in Nest’s future?
This also means that Nest products will start getting better integration with Google’s services and devices. Clearly, Chrome and Chrome OS are a big part of Google’s future, making this acquisition pretty exciting for us.
In essence, Chromebooks are smart devices that could control your Nest devices. Controlling your devices via Chrome (and apps/extensions) will more than likely be an option. There is much more that could be done, though.
There are many functions that come to mind when thinking of how Chrome could work with Nest’s products. Imagine if your Chromebook’s light bar turned red when it detects smoke, for example. Maybe the thermostat could be automatically adjusted to your movies, making a room’s temperature colder if it was snowing in the video, for example.
How about the smoke alarm making sounds when there is an alarm sounding in a movie? These are just a couple of examples. The possibilities are really endless, but this is the kind of functionality I would like to see in the future. Can you think of any other cool features this acquisition could bring?
[Google]
