The Google smart home ecosystem is a complete mess

A few days ago, I tried unsuccessfully to install Google's smart smoke detector, the Nest Protect – CNET smart home. After nearly two hours on the phone with the help desk, the Nest app and the device have always refused to connect. Why? Well, I finally discovered that a problem on the iOS version of the Nest app does not allow the installation of Nest Protect. after a Nest Hub Max, The new Google smart screen. As a result of a Google suggestion, I had to extract an old Android-based Galaxy Note 6 to properly install the smoke detector.

If Google is own Smart home products act as half-brothers and sisters embarrassed. Many old Works tools with Nest seem to be out of use for the holidays. And it's not their fault: it turns out that Google is a terrible parent.

How did we come here?

With the Amazon Echo, the Nest Learning Thermostat was one of the first products for the smart home to gain widespread notoriety: the thermostat was a certified hit. Nest has opened its API to third-party developers by creating Works with Nest, a network of products linked by Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Then, in 2014, the technology giant Google did what the tech giants did and bought back to buy the new home automation business for a tidy $ 3.2 billion.

Google has acquired another smart home product, the Dropcam Pro, and slowly but steadily, the Nest brand has been expanded to include thermostats, smoke / CO detectors, indoor and outdoor cameras, a basic security system and a camera at the door. Nest's reliability and continued support for hundreds of Works with Nest devices, even Google's competitors' devices, such as Amazon Echo, have played a bigger role than its expansion.

After this year Google I / O Conference, Things have changed. first, Google has announced a rebranding effort which merged the previously separate product lines of Google and Nest into a unified "Google Nest" umbrella. Google then announced plans Close Works with Nest in August and adopt a new model called Works with Google Assistant. The central logic seemed quite reasonable: if the smart home gadgets trigger Nest devices and vice versa, they necessarily share the data of users. Placing Google Assistant in the center of Nest's interoperability network could therefore improve security. It also brings some unity to the smart home marketing, already split in half, with Nest on one side and Google Home and Google Assistant on the other.

The problem, of course, was that many people had invested five or more years in building Works with Nest's smart homes, and Google had planned to reverse them all in a few months. After a quick outcry by Nest users and developers, Google has denied its original claims that Nest integrations would continue to work after August, even though its users are not able to create new WWN integrations. Meanwhile, customers could migrate to a Google account and continue to use their integrations.

Of course, it has not been so easy.

If you keep your Works with Nest account as is, you can not add new products to the configuration and Google has promised to stop the system update. If you are migrating to Works with Google Assistant, all your Works with Nest integrations. Boom. There is no going back.

This means that some integrations end for good. The most symbolic is probably IFTTT, an application that allows you to create your own smart home triggers (for example, if I get out of my garage, set the thermostat to 70 degrees). For many, IFTTT represents the freedom to customize the configuration of your smart home, but this user freedom is at odds with Google's goal: a smart home run by the Google Assistant.

While some developers, such as Lifx, have worked with Google to make sure you do not to lose by migrating to the new system, many of them are still catching up. Even the big hitters like August, the developer of smart locks, have asked their owners to delay the migration until they receive specific invitations indicating that the company was ready to support the migration.

Philips Hue, like Lifx, one of the leading developers of intelligent lighting solutions, has sent me a two-sentence statement, echoing most official statements Online: "We are working closely with Google to continue to provide the best possible experience and new features to our customers." Existing users can continue to use Nest with Philips Hue integration as long as they do not migrate to a Google Account. "

Lutron, developer of Works with Nest light interrupters, made the statement a little more directly: "Google is removing the ability for other smart home brands, including Lutron, to work directly with Nest devices. smart home on one platform., Works with Google Assistant … If you're using a Lutron app to manage or control Nest products and want to continue doing so, do not convert your NEST account to a Google Account. " Highlighting theirs.)

But not all companies are as well established as Lifx, Philips and Lutron. Google's smaller developers, missing companies, and competitors, regardless of their "Works with Nest" status, all seem to run even more risk under the new Google Assistant plan. In fact, people have already started reporting problems with their products.

In short, Google Nest is a mess at the moment. Hell, I felt it just install Google's own smoke detector. This decision may give tech-savvy customers headaches, but the repercussions for occasional users are still debatable. Will a third-party smoke detector or thermostat eventually lose its functionality after this update because Google has decided to no longer support it? Even more urgently, if a hard-of-hearing user integrates smart lights with his Nest Protect CO, this integration may disappear when he migrates to a Google account, perhaps based on the number of smart light bulbs on sale when they make purchases.

Google did not respond when I spoke to ask specifically what the future of Works with Nest products would look like. And while their press releases include the usual combination of conciliatory language and optimistic forecasts, individual companies seem nervous.

As the transition progressed, Google released its Nest Hub Max. In itself, the Max Hub works pretty well. For enthusiasts to see a smart, video-conferencing display with Google Assistant, Nest Hub Max checks all boxes.

But to be a successful "smart home" hub, it takes more than powerful standalone features. This requires more than Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connectivity. This even requires more than a replacement ecosystem such as Works with Google Assistant. It takes consistency. Yet, in recent years, Google has been shown versatile: among other products killed, the giant has bought and in 2016 $ 300 Home Automation Center with a loyal fan base. Google's willingness to get support from Works with Nest – one of the most promising smart home ecosystems in the market, a system less than ten years old – is just the latest data point of a trend frustrating long established.

Although Google can claim that its new system will be beneficial for users in the long run, the fact remains that customers have spent money on a product, and Google takes this product out of their hands. and replace it with something different. Indeed, Google has just unplugged many of the smart homes of its users, while asking them to kindly install in a new home brand Google Assistant. Google assures us in the long run that things will be better. His track record with killer products does not inspire confidence.