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Nest Update Lets Users Control Smart Thermostat From Their Apple Watch

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Hinted at by the company earlier in the month, Nest recently debuted a minor, but notable, update for its iOS app, introducing a few user interface tweaks and ways to share live videos from the company's indoor and outdoor cameras. For those users with a Nest Thermostat and an Apple Watch, the 5.6.0 update should be of particular interest, since it brings with it the ability to let you adjust the temperature of your home, right from your wrist, without needing to open the iOS app (via The Verge).

Additionally, there's a new "Spaces" grouping feature that provides an organized way to place Nest products by which room of the house they're in, and lets users view all of their live camera feeds at once, if on Wi-Fi. Additional viewers can be added into these live streams now, as well, thanks to a new web-based site, video.nest.com (which doesn't appear to be up-and-running at the time of writing), where a password can be shared to a trusted third party who might need to check in on the cameras.

Nest-apple-watch-800x532.jpg
Image via The Verge​


Nest detailed the full list of updates in the App Store:
We have several new features for you.
?- Spaces groups your Nest products by room and lets you see all your cameras at once. And if you're connected to Wi-Fi, shows you all of their live views.?
- Share a password protected live view of your camera. Now grandma can see what the kids are up to at video.nest.com.?
- 1080p support for Dropcam Pro.?
- Automatic video quality adjustment helps make sure you get a continuous, clear picture.?
- We've also added support for Apple Watch. You can now control your Nest Thermostat from your wrist.
Click to expand...
Nest has faced a few public-facing appearance issues in the past, centered around the lengthy gaps between product releases, and some software issues with the Nest Protect line of smoke detectors that ultimately led to a product-wide recall. In June, Nest co-founder Tony Fadell announced that he was leaving the company to "create and disrupt other industries," while speculation from workers inside the company suggested many Nest employees "complained publicly about Fadell's management, while claiming the business had missed sales targets, botched upgrades and delayed future products."

The Nest iOS app can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Article Link: Nest Update Lets Users Control Smart Thermostat From Their Apple Watch
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2016/07/29/nest-update-apple-watch/
The biggest deal for longtime users isn't the watch app, it's dropcam pro supporting 1080p. I have only had a dropcam pro for 2 years but I am sure many have had one a little longer. It says ON THE BOX supports 1080p video......that didn't happen till yesterday!!!! Can you imagine an Apple product that said "comes with USB 3.1" but only worked at USB 2.0 speeds for 2 years?
 
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Reactions: boston04and07 and Zirel
Pbrutto said:
The biggest deal for longtime users isn't the watch app, it's dropcam pro supporting 1080p. I have only had a dropcam pro for 2 years but I am sure many have had one a little longer. It says ON THE BOX supports 1080p video......that didn't happen till yesterday!!!! Can you imagine an Apple product that said "comes with USB 3.1" but only worked at USB 2.0 speeds for 2 years?
Click to expand...

Or how about the Nest Cam, which they advertise as 1080p but then in the app they recommend against running it in 1080p as it tends to overheat.
 
Pbrutto said:
The biggest deal for longtime users isn't the watch app, it's dropcam pro supporting 1080p. I have only had a dropcam pro for 2 years but I am sure many have had one a little longer. It says ON THE BOX supports 1080p video......that didn't happen till yesterday!!!! Can you imagine an Apple product that said "comes with USB 3.1" but only worked at USB 2.0 speeds for 2 years?
Click to expand...

doesn't matter, you have to give them a pass because they are made by a small company called Google, and they only cost $200. /s
 
Wow finally.... Now they just need to release a new model that supports home kit... I have a gen 1 nest and really like it.
 
nt5672 said:
Dropped Nest last year. We are very happy with Ecobee and no google prying eyes.
Click to expand...

If you're that paranoid why post? You've already compromised yourself especially in this day and age off hackers and government ease dropping. Heck, why even own a computer or phone for that matter.
Even your fingerprint is not protected when the government wants information. You forgot everyone but Google.
 
cdm283813 said:
If you're that paranoid why post? You've already compromised yourself especially in this day and age off hackers and government ease dropping. Heck, why even own a computer or phone for that matter.
Even your fingerprint is not protected when the government wants information. You forgot everyone but Google.
Click to expand...

That's the great thing about competition, it gives you choice. I have a nest and I love it and frankly like to spend my gadget money on other new toys rather than changing them. I do understand nt5672's concerns and your opinion; both are entirely valid.
 
Ehh. Still no HomeKit or Apple TV app...too little too late IMO. When I move soon I'll likely be switching to another brand.
 
NEST:
Boy oh boy let me tell you about Nest thermostats. We use them at work, thanks to my stupidity, and have a little over 30 of them. Ive NEVER, and I mean NEVER, have had so many problems with thermostats in my whole life. Ive had to replace 6 of them so far from failures. Software glitches, base problems, twist ring problems, you name it. Spare me the installation questions as well, they've been installed by guys with over 30 years experience.

I even went as far as talking to them at trade shows and no one ever has an answer for me. It would be nice to just send them back and say "you fix it and send it back", rather than waste my time on them. For most of our guys its cheaper for us to replace them rather than spend time with their terrible tech support.

Their 3rd generation stats work better, SO FAR, the 2nd generations were massive failures.
 
boston04and07 said:
Ehh. Still no HomeKit or Apple TV app...too little too late IMO. When I move soon I'll likely be switching to another brand.
Click to expand...

You'll never get HomeKit. They have to upgrade the hardware to meet Apple's security requirements. I had to upgrade my Philips Hue bridge for that reason. It was totally worth it just for the ability to use Siri on my Apple Watch to control the lights.
 
Thanks for all the comments. It seems that EcoBee is the main competitor and has HomeKit integration. I am looking to install a smart thermostat in my home and was not big on Nest because of the lack of HomeKit. Will look at EcoBee now and see what that offers. Are there others that people recommend? On Amazon, I only see eve as a homekit compatible alternative. Thanks all.
 
Cuban Missles said:
Thanks for all the comments. It seems that EcoBee is the main competitor and has HomeKit integration. I am looking to install a smart thermostat in my home and was not big on Nest because of the lack of HomeKit. Will look at EcoBee now and see what that offers. Are there others that people recommend? On Amazon, I only see eve as a homekit compatible alternative. Thanks all.
Click to expand...

Ecobee seems to be highly preferred for HomeKit and it's ability to be expanded into multiple rooms with additional temperature sensors. Few people I know who changed from Nest to Ecobee absolutely love them.
 
Yeah... I got very interested in the smart thermostat thing when we bought a house a couple years ago that's 100+ years old and expensive to heat and cool.

At the time, Nest was still a pretty new (but popular) product. I ran across the EcoBee "Smart Si" thermostat, via an eBay seller, though and it sounded like a better value for the dollar (especially as I needed two; one for an upstairs heat pump and one for a downstairs heat pump).

Not long after that, my decision was validated when I kept reading reports of Nest thermostats failing in the "stuck on" position. If you left on a 2 week vacation and the relay on the circuit board failed, it could result in your furnace or A/C running continuously until you returned! Not acceptable!

I've upgraded our house to the Ecobee 3 with remote sensors, and they're great units. (I've had Apple Watch control for them for quite a while now. Can't believe Nest is just NOW getting around to that?)

I will say, though? I think the smart thermostats probably ALL have failure rates much higher than we're used to with traditional "programmable thermostats", simply because they're a lot more complex. They've got wi-fi radios in them to connect to the Internet and much more.

I had an Ecobee Smart Si that I had to get replaced because something was defective on its circuit board that prevented my heat pump from turning on in one mode of operation. That would have been really tough to troubleshoot if I hadn't already bought a spare unit to swap in and out with it for testing purposes. (The behaviors looked exactly like what would happen if I had mis-wired something.)

And with the Ecobee 3 thermostats? I had a lot of problems for a while with them losing contact with the remote temperature sensors. Every day, I was getting random warnings of one disconnecting for an hour or two and then coming back online. I tried fresh batteries and moving the sensors around.... nothing worked. I think only a firmware update from Ecobee finally resolved it.


biglipps66 said:
NEST:
Boy oh boy let me tell you about Nest thermostats. We use them at work, thanks to my stupidity, and have a little over 30 of them. Ive NEVER, and I mean NEVER, have had so many problems with thermostats in my whole life. Ive had to replace 6 of them so far from failures. Software glitches, base problems, twist ring problems, you name it. Spare me the installation questions as well, they've been installed by guys with over 30 years experience.

I even went as far as talking to them at trade shows and no one ever has an answer for me. It would be nice to just send them back and say "you fix it and send it back", rather than waste my time on them. For most of our guys its cheaper for us to replace them rather than spend time with their terrible tech support.

Their 3rd generation stats work better, SO FAR, the 2nd generations were massive failures.
Click to expand...
 
I wonder how Nest is doing without Tony Fadell around. Nice to see Nest pair with the Apple Watch.
 
cdm283813 said:
If you're that paranoid why post? You've already compromised yourself especially in this day and age off hackers and government ease dropping. Heck, why even own a computer or phone for that matter.
Even your fingerprint is not protected when the government wants information. You forgot everyone but Google.
Click to expand...

I certainly hope that you don't professionally have to use any kind of logic, because that statement is surely lacking any.
 
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