Let’s take a look at some details of Nest Thermostat first.
The price is 249 dollars, and the second generation is 199 dollars.
Equipped with 480×480 display screen, the resolution is higher and the display technology is improved. Compared with the second generation, the screen is not only bigger, but also the brightness is obviously improved.
This upgraded screen provides a function called "Farsight", which allows the display screen of the thermostat to be awakened at a longer distance. The second generation of Nest requires users to stand within one meter to wake up the screen. According to the official statement of Nest, the third generation of Nest can monitor the existence of users in the whole room and wake up the screen anytime and anywhere.
The function of "Furnace Heads-Up" is added, which can warn users after the heater fails. Nest said in a statement: "Most air-heated heaters are equipped with automatic shut-off valves to avoid overheating. Nest Thermostat will test the shut-off valves twice a year to find out whether there are any problems left over from long-term use. If a problem is found, the user will receive relevant information on the Nest App, and will be notified in the monthly home report on the display screen of the thermostat. 」
Nest’s new thermostat has been connected to the security camera Nest Cam and the smoke detector Nest Protect.
China does not have a "thermostat" using soil. In China, families either use central heating or air conditioning. In addition, there is no need to dynamically adjust the temperature control equipment. Nest Protect (gas leak alarm) has been tried by companies such as Euribo, but it has not become an explosive product.
The most popular products in China are smart plug, intelligent air purifier and intelligent water purifier, especially those closely related to environmental protection issues, which have captured the hearts of consumers. The home smart camera market corresponding to Nest Cam is also growing, and 360 even claims to give 1 million smart cameras to users for free.
However, even with the above differences, the upgrade direction of Nest’s third-generation thermostat is still worth learning from China smart home peers:
1. Interaction is a short board and has the most room for upgrading.
Whether the screen is upgraded or the wake-up distance is longer, this is to solve the interaction problem between people and home. Whether the device has a screen and how good the screen should be is a problem that many intelligent hardware are entangled in, which is related to the product cost. Nest’s second-generation screen enhancement shows that smart home products need better screens, such as smart photo frames, smart cameras with remote video, and smart access control … The screens of these products will be upgraded.
At the same time, interactive technology combined with speech recognition and human body induction will also become an indispensable means. It sometimes seems too cramped to control smart home products through App, such as bedside lamps, which can be pressed by hand and designed to need App control. Obviously, it is not in line with the user’s usage scenarios. Interaction such as voice, light, sound and image recognition will become the mainstream, and technologies such as far-field voice interaction have great breakthrough opportunities.
2. The connection between devices begins.
Nest thermostat is connected with smart camera and gas alarm. However, these are all their own devices. To be more accurate, Nest devices are not related to Google’s own smart home devices. Google has launched PowerMeter, Google TV, Nexus Q and Chromecast before, but all failed except the last one. These devices seem to have no need to connect with Nest. However, Google has launched Project Brillo corresponding to Apple HomeKit, and Nest products should be an important part of it.
The connection between devices makes smart home devices "networked" and work together, which is an important topic in the smart home industry. However, except for special families such as villas, most families will stay in the era of "single product" for a long time. Manufacturers have their own abacus, and they all want to make their own ecology, standards and platforms. Compatibility is not temporary.
3. Integration with back-end services is worth learning.
Nest Labs is working with a home insurance company, and if users share information from the Protect smoke detector, they can get a premium discount. At the same time, Nest Labs has also reached cooperation with energy companies. This idea of collecting data and sharing it with enterprises and integrating enterprise services is worth learning. Smart home manufacturers in China are likely to reach cooperation with insurance companies and energy companies in the future, for example, when necessary, they can obtain smart camera videos as evidence of claims for family property insurance, and for example, they can share users’ electricity habits with energy companies. However, China energy companies are all state-owned enterprises, so they should not be interested in such refined management and regulation for the time being, and smart homes may not have entered their interest circle yet.
(Source: FRID World Network)