We've been told for several years that the Internet of
Things (IoT) was going revolutionize how we interact with everything. From
changing the thermostat to toggling lights, and making ice cubes to starting a
load of laundry, the IoT was going to empower its users with the ability to
interface with any device from anywhere.
And yet, the adoption of IoT technology in most households
has been…sluggish. This is perhaps in large part due to the unfulfilled destiny
of Nest, the home
automation market's largest manufacturer.
Nest received a lot of accolades when it released its Learning
Thermometer in 2011. Customers would replace their analog thermostat with a
sleek one with an LCD face that could be interfaced with via a smartphone app. After
a few days of learning your heating and cooling preferences, the Learning
Thermometer would adjust the temperature automatically. The next release was Nest
Protect, a smoke and carbon monoxide detector that brought added functionality
and integration to a typically lifeless product. At the time, many experts believed
Nest would be the next tech giant.
Google, sensing a chance to acquire a flourishing start-up,
paid $3.2 billion for Nest in 2014. But outside of a [redesigned] security
camera and cloud subscription it released in 2015, Nest has had a quiet few
years. How has such a promising technology market turned stale so quickly?
Nest has been slow to build and release new products, which
reduces the potential for return customers who want to expand their home
automation capabilities. Meanwhile, it's also shutting
off legacy products, which is maddening to customers who already own Nest
products.
Some wonder if the nature of home automation technology
limits its attractiveness. This article
appearing on Vox points out that people interact with smart appliances much
differently than say smartphones. While smartphones have essentially become
on-the-go computers, customers don't get a radically richer experience with a
smart thermostat versus a dumb thermostat, and many other appliances.
Another good argument is that some home automation platforms
run competing software, meaning that customers have to open two or more apps to
toggle separate smart appliances if they're from different manufacturers. Nest
has attempted to develop a communications standard, Works with Nest, to promote
seamless communication with third-part devices. While some other companies have
jumped on board, others have resisted. A technology that's meant to simplify
lifestyles is actually complicating them.
There have also been rumblings that the lack of innovation
from home automation's biggest player has more to do with internal
mismanagement than hardware or software issues. In one (since deleted) comment
in this
reddit thread, an anonymous engineer
says that executives are creating a toxic environment, and skilled
engineers are being replaced with sub-par talent. This is a
perspective backed-up by a Dropcam cofounder who left the company after it
was bought by Nest.
It's tough to determine why more home automation products
aren't being adopted. In all likelihood, it's some combination of all the
above.
As home automation becomes cheaper and more impressive, the
second and third generations of the technology will be more popular. It just remains
to be seen if Nest is a part of that future.
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