Google Kills Off Nest Thermostat App for Apple Watch

[twistedpixel8]

Lmao you wanna know why nobody was using it, NEST? Because it didn’t work. Ever. Every single time I opened it, I got the blue spinner of doom. Useless, just like the NEST app for iPhone. Solid hardware, hopeless software: sadly becoming a trend these days.

 

[timborama]

They’re too busy spying on people... must require a lot of resources to listen in on all these conversations:

https://translate.googleusercontent...700262&usg=ALkJrhgjZZP0ysycNm6tfszBkDZdM6m3cg

LOL...Should probably get your head out of the sand... https://www.macrumors.com/2019/07/11/apple-watch-walkie-talkie-eavesdropping-bug/

 

[matrix07]

When I start investing on smarthome products next month, it must all support Alexa.

Don't really care about HomeKit as that's only for people with iOS devices exclusively and while I do have XS Max and iPad, I also have a P30 Pro.

Ring products are a good shout, but I'm fine with anything that supports IFTTT and Amazon Alexa. HomeKit/Google Home support are small bonuses.

Nest, are definitely out of the running.

EDIT: Had a look at Google Home (and Nest). No Apple Music support. Don't build your home around Google Home. You're way better off with Alexa.

Home automation needs long term planning strategy and I would never trust company like Amazon with it YMMV.

 

[Marconelly]

Lmao you wanna know why nobody was using it, NEST? Because it didn’t work. Ever. Every single time I opened it, I got the blue spinner of doom.

This was my experience throughout the years also. I would check it every month or so to see if they'd fix it and weirdly enough, last week their watch app actually finally worked for me. Seems like they killed it just when they got it working.

 

[Kaibelf]

Google really trying its hardest to alienate Apple users in the Nest ecosystem. Can’t really see HomeKit support coming after this. Apple should have bought Nest makes sense with the founders and the cost and design of the hardware.

I disagree. Given the behavior of the Nest founder and how he poisoned the well everywhere he went after he left Apple, they were probably glad to be rid of him.

 

[CarlJ]

I am soon going to get new 4K and 8K TV replacements and it is a problem finding a selection without Android OS. As much as possible I try to be Google free (but I assume they are reading this, logging it, and selling it)

Not just Android, very few companies providing TVs and media streamers come off very well on privacy/spying, with Apple being a notable exception. Get whatever TV you like (in terms of display quality and such), put it on the network only to update firmware, then take it back off the network, and use it as a dumb screen for an Apple TV and/or BluRay player. If it doesn't have a network connection, it can't call home to report on you.

 

[jhtrico1850]

So what you're saying is, you like giving your data away to unscrupulous companies (Google and Amazon) and hostile foreign governments (China).
[doublepost=1562857737][/doublepost]

I went the opposite route; I set my HVAC automations in the Ecobee app instead of HomeKit.

Well, remember, sue

Not just Android, very few companies providing TVs and media streamers come off very well on privacy/spying, with Apple being a notable exception. Get whatever TV you like (in terms of display quality and such), put it on the network only to update firmware, then take it back off the network, and use it as a dumb screen for an Apple TV and/or BluRay player. If it doesn't have a network connection, it can't call home to report on you.

Apple had that disastrous celebrity iCloud photo hack recently. Regardless of the vendor intentions, I’ve never seen Google leak data like that

 

[mgworek]

Just got rid of my Nest thermostats and replaced them with Honeywell T5's. It's so much nicer controlling the temperature with HomeKit. I have the option to use Amazon or Google as well. Google better get their butt in gear because they are eroding any consumer faith they had in the Nest product line.

The last to go is my Nest Hello doorbell. As soon as those HomeKit doorbells are out, I'm out of Nest completely.

Does the Honeywell have to reach out to their servers to work with apps? I have a ecobee3 and i like it but i don't want to rely on outside servers with my smart devices. I was thinking of switching to an insteon thermostat which doesnt require internet to talk to my other insteon devices (unless I want to use their hub, which then does).

I am making it so my smarthome doesnt require internet / outside servers and services to work.

 

[Chaka Jon]

So glad I went with an ecobee a few months ago for the new home.

It’s too bad, because the Nest lineup of products is really outstanding. I would have done everything; thermostat, doorbell, cams, etc.

No HomeKit. No deal.

 

[ericgtr12]

Just got rid of my Nest thermostats and replaced them with Honeywell T5's. It's so much nicer controlling the temperature with HomeKit. I have the option to use Amazon or Google as well. Google better get their butt in gear because they are eroding any consumer faith they had in the Nest product line.

The last to go is my Nest Hello doorbell. As soon as those HomeKit doorbells are out, I'm out of Nest completely.

I stopped using the Nest thermostat all together because they won't let you simply set a temp. If I want it to be 72 degrees I want it to be 72 degrees, not an average of that or have it "learn" what's best, while that's likely fine for some I have never found it to work out for me. It's a simple software change to give us this option and they refused to add it.

 

[MisterSavage]

I stopped using the Nest thermostat all together because they won't let you simply set a temp. If I want it to be 72 degrees I want it to be 72 degrees, not an average of that or have it "learn" what's best, while that's likely fine for some I have never found it to work out for me. It's a simple software change to give us this option and they refused to add it.

Wow, it's funny you mention that because Nest sent me a survey recently. I wrote that it's silly that we can't "hold" a temp. Their explanation online that you shouldn't need to because of its learning capabilities doesn't hold water with me. I've got a schedule to have the house hot as hell during the day but if we've got company I just want the temp held at a certain temp so that they're comfortable and don't have to mess with the termostat. Seems like a pretty common usage scenario.

 

[Marconelly]

I stopped using the Nest thermostat all together because they won't let you simply set a temp. If I want it to be 72 degrees I want it to be 72 degrees, not an average of that or have it "learn" what's best, while that's likely fine for some I have never found it to work out for me. It's a simple software change to give us this option and they refused to add it.

Yeah, their swing activation temperature range (hvac industry term for this is 'maintenance band') is probably wider than any other thermostat ever made. They staunchly refuse to let users change this, which resulted with many people having houses that are too hot, and then cooling has to work forever until it cools house down, which is then too cold, and so on. Their explanation for this was that activating the equipment less often, but letting it work for longer, is more efficient. Which may be so, but it's certainly less comfortable for people in the house, who had no say over this at all.

Sometime last year they updated the thermostat firmware so that this temperature band becomes narrower when it's very hot or very cold outside. Which was nice, but even with this adjustment I think the band is still wider than just about any thermostat out there. Why they never let users adjust this, I'll never understand.

 

[CarlJ]

Apple had that disastrous celebrity iCloud photo hack recently. Regardless of the vendor intentions, I’ve never seen Google leak data like that

Stop spreading this misinformation - Apple didn't leak data, and iCloud wasn't hacked. There were, however, a bunch of celebrities who had easily guessable passwords, or recovery questions, or got taken in by spear phishing attacks. The bad guys got in by knowing the passwords, via guessing or social engineering. That is not a hack. There are a number of things they could/can do to make a reoccurrence less likely, but Apple's security wasn't hacked.

 

[GIZBUG]

On May 16, Google / Nest have announced that while the "Works With Nest" program will end on August 31, 2019, apps like this one will continue working indefinitely, as long as you do not migrate your Nest account onto a Google account. Developer of this app will make every attempt to apply for Google's security audit, that would allow the app to continue working even after the account migration.

Yes, it DOES say the APP will continue working!

 

[x-evil-x]

Can't say that I see the appeal of controlling the thermostat from my wrist anyway. If I'm there, I can just walk over and adjust it on the wall, and if I'm not there, I don't need to adjust the temperature.

That’s the whole point of having a smart thermostat. Laying in bed and saying turn air to 72 or pressing a few buttons on your phone so you don’t have to move get up and go turn the air down then go back and lay down. If you don’t see the appeal in this then a smart thermostat isn’t for you or any HomeKit anything. Same goes for lighting. You know how long it would take to turn off my 30 hue bulbs by hand? One phrase and everything is off. Same for automations. That’s why we buy home automation devices.

 

[oxfordrunner]

This seems like sloppy reporting, assigning a motivation to Apple's actions with no facts to back it up - unless you have some proof that your assertion really is why they're adding an App Store to the watch.

Seems more likely that the on-watch App Store is part of a long plan towards making the Watch a standalone platform. I've heard of numerous Android users who would jump at the chance to buy/wear an Apple Watch if they didn't have to also get an iPhone in order to use it.

The real problem I haven't heard anyone address is that Automatic App Store software update rules allowed a deletion. APPLE LET GOOGLE REMOTELY DELETE AN APP ON MY PHONE! WTF!

Don't tell me I didn't read a 3600 page terms of service agreement we all scroll to the end of and just click agree, this is BS. Also, since Apps moved to the cloud, any old app, no matter what I paid for it, can be deleted at any time. If Apple refuses to support it in a future version of iOS, so be it. I can always choose not to upgrade my iOS. A remote deletion disguised as an "upgrade," however, is entirely a different matter.

 

[x-evil-x]

Thermo Watch developer here - I should point out that this is actually good news for existing users (or anyone who starts using the app before August 31) Because it means that for those users at least, the app will keep working fine. I don't plan on abandoning the app even after that day. It will still be getting updates for existing users, and will soon also have Homekit thermostat support, in particular so that it can display homekit thermostat temperatures on the watch face complications.
I also still have plans to update the app in any way possible so it keeps working even for new Nest users after that date.

Your saying there will be HomeKit support for your app? When is that coming? I just installed your app on my Mac and I love it. Is the 3$ app for the Mac not bundled with the phone/watch app? So I have to pay for the app again on my phone/watch?

 

[rillrill]

Does the Honeywell have to reach out to their servers to work with apps? I have a ecobee3 and i like it but i don't want to rely on outside servers with my smart devices. I was thinking of switching to an insteon thermostat which doesnt require internet to talk to my other insteon devices (unless I want to use their hub, which then does).

I am making it so my smarthome doesnt require internet / outside servers and services to work.

I don't know if the honeywell requires internet or outside servers - but I thought the draw of HomeKit is that you can run things when servers go down - like my wemo smart plugs worked even when their servers didn't. That's why I got rid of the Google Home - it ONLY used other companies' servers.

 

[Marconelly]

Your saying there will be HomeKit support for your app? When is that coming? I just installed your app on my Mac and I love it. Is the 3$ app for the Mac not bundled with the phone/watch app? So I have to pay for the app again on my phone/watch?

I hope to have it done by the end of this month, if not sooner, for the iOS/Watch. I have it pretty much all worked out already.

I don't think it's possible yet to bundle the Mac and iOS app purchases, but I give out the codes for the other platform to users who buy them once and ask me about it. PM me which app you'd like the code for iOS/Watch.

 

[drumcat]

Sometimes, this is why analog is better.

 

[PastaPrimav]

Just got the ecobee5 and I'm overall very pleased.

My only gripes are:

1. The display could look a little nicer. I know its just a thermostat, but I was expecting a little more.
2. Despite its HomeKit integration, syncing up HomeKit scenes with its own built automation for Home/Away/etc. is actually quite cumbersome.

My HomeKit scenes work just fine (which is what I care about) and they have flawlessly set the temp every time, but the built in automation doesn't seem to be able to be disabled or fully overridden by Homekit automation.

 

[ScottHammet]

A bit off-topic but there is one small caveat when using HomeKit with Ecobee.

If you do want to use HomeKit with it, make sure your automations are all done within the Home app.

If you set up your schedule on the Ecobee app or on the thermostat yourself, it’s fine. But the moment you change temperature thru HomeKit, it will remain at the temperature indefinitely. It will *not* return to its set schedule automatically and you must do it manually.

I think that's a setting on the Ecobee side. I had the opposite need, where I wanted the changes made by my home automation system to hold unless I changed them again (i.e. not have the schedules override them), and had to adjust the setting within Ecobee to allow for an indefinite hold. My situation might have been slightly different than what you're describing, though.

 

[an-other]

I was an early Nest adopter. Thought it was great. Loved how they had an iPad app Day 1 of iPad release. Bought smoke detectors, and was impressed with the auto-away functionality. Then Google bought them. Everyone said, "Google. Run for the hills." I stayed the course. Apple Watch comes out. No Nest app. Wait Wait Wait, no Nest app. No Homekit support. Wait... Wait... Wait... Had enough,you don't want me as a consumer. You want me to convert everything to Google. Bought an Ecobee 3. Then, ecobee pulled their Apple Watch app for about 6 months.

I suspect I'm influenced from my original Nest experience. I think overall the U/I on the Nest is better. The Ecobee has a lot of branches for configuration things. I also had issues with conflicting Home Kit and Ecobee configuration causing unwanted temperature changes. It's all sorted now. Easy once you've figured it out.

I do have multiple sensors for the ecobee. I've never had an issue with one disconnecting or causing issues. I will vouch they work. I do notice the hvac kicking in depending on the room I'm in.

I won't go back to Nest. I'm sure it's still a good product. Ecobee and home kit meet my needs (although I'd love to figure out the humidifier connection.) A lot of new players in the game, and I do wonder what they bring. It's just hard to justify buying a third thermostat system for me. I'd encourage anyone considering buying one to expand their scope past ecobee and nest.

My number one reason I like the apple watch app? Taking my thermostat off away when I land at the airport or having a long commute back home. Nice to have the house close to normal settings when I arrive. It's way more convenient than fiddling with your phone.

 

[H3LL5P4WN]

Well, remember, sue


Apple had that disastrous celebrity iCloud photo hack recently. Regardless of the vendor intentions, I’ve never seen Google leak data like that

One last time for the people in the back:

WEAK. INDIVIDUAL. PASSWORDS. ARE. NOT. A. HACK. OF. AN. ENTIRE. SYSTEM.

 

[Djspeedracer]

Of course. Google buys nest and now it’s crap. Good job google.