When someone shows up at your front door, the Nest Hello video doorbell can send you a notice.
Now, Nest is preparing to make a comeback. On Thursday (15th) local time in the United States, Nest announced that the previously released Nest Hello video doorbell ($229) and Nest X Yale smart door lock ($249) are now on sale. In addition, there is a $39 temperature sensor, which can be used in conjunction with the company’s flagship product Nest Learning Thermostat.
These products themselves are integrated into the ecosystem of Google-Nest. For example, if you use the Nest application to open the new Nest x Yale smart lock, it can automatically disarm the Nest Secure home security system alarm. Alternatively, you can use Google Home smart speaker and play the video of Nest Hello doorbell on TV with Google Chromecast.
In fact, the recent software update has turned the Nest Cam IQ indoor camera into a smart speaker supported by the assistant Google Assistant. Its only limitation is that it can’t play music, and it can only answer questions and control other smart home devices.
The new Nest remote temperature sensor can control Nest Learning Thermostat in different rooms.
Maxime Veron, product marketing director of Nest, said that this ecosystem and the artificial intelligence provided by Google can bring different effects. He pointed out: "We don’t expect consumers to buy it at once."
But Veron said that every Nest or Google device you buy can make all other devices better. In today’s news, Nest provides a variety of products and services such as cameras, door locks, security systems, thermostats and smoke detectors, which are unmatched by most competitors, not to mention Amazon.
On the topic of Amazon, Veyron declared that the company’s acquisition of Ring, a video doorbell manufacturer, was "very interesting", and many details remained to be disclosed, including whether Amazon planned to maintain the current compatibility of Ring with Google Assistant platform.
However, for its part, Nest prides itself on being friendly with others. You can use the Google Home app to control the Ring camera, and you can use the Amazon Echo app to control the Nest thermostat.
Veron didn’t see any reason to change, no matter how the relationship between the two companies evolved. He said: "Nest maintains a high degree of openness, and we have no plans to destroy this at present."
Veyron takes Nest as an example of how to maintain friendly relations with iPhone and Android applications. If customers want to use Amazon Echo to control their Nest devices, that’s their choice. However, he also said that Google Assistant is Nest’s "current platform of choice".
Nevertheless, now that Nest has been merged into Google, it is no longer an independent subsidiary of Alphabet, but some problems still need to be faced by Nest alone.
Nest x Yale smart lock allows you to open the door with an application or PIN code.
For example, in the past few years, Nest has been developing products that can be combined with the Nest smart home ecosystem, and they are compatible with each other. However, Google has its own fast-growing independent ecosystem built around Google Assistant. Even Nest doesn’t know whether it is necessary to keep these two states.
Veyron questioned: "Is it better for a company to have two different plans or only one plan?" He said that this is still something they are considering.
Similarly, whether Nest will maintain an independent smartphone application or integrate directly into the Google Home application has not yet been decided. On Google Home, Google Assistant users can control their home devices.
However, Veron finally thinks that Nest and Google will benefit from unification. Google brings facial recognition and other artificial intelligence technologies, while Nest has rich experience in building equipment and providing services. He said: "The combination of the two can strengthen product integration and go beyond unilateral efforts. What we are discussing now is how to benefit from each other’s advantages. " (Compile/Jin Lu)
(Source: BI Chinese Station)