After nine long years, Google is finally refreshing the device that gave Nest its name. The company on Tuesday announced the launch of the Nest Learning Thermostat 4, 13 years after the release of the original and nearly a decade after the Learning Thermostat 3 and ahead of the Made by Google 2024 event next week.
Google hopes this release will usher in a new era for its smart home play. The last several years saw a marked slowdown from the company, leading many to believe the category was all but dead in the water. The Nest line’s stasis coincided with a period of relative quiet for Amazon’s Echo line.
It’s no coincidence that the new Learning Thermostat arrives as Google is amping up work on its generative AI model, Gemini. While the system appears to replace Google Assistant on Pixel and other Android devices, the branding is sticking around for the smart home line — albeit powered by many of Google’s new LLM-based models.
Gemini will effectively boost Assistant’s conversational capabilities. Generative AI is capable of powering the kinds of more natural language interactions Google and Amazon have been working for more than a decade to achieve.
Google notes in a release, “We’re thrilled to unveil how we’re using Gemini models to make our devices smarter and simpler to use than ever, starting with cameras and home automation. We’re also using Gemini models to make Google Assistant much more natural and helpful on your Nest speakers and displays.”
The fourth-generation Learning Thermostat refines the line’s familiar design with thinner and sleeker hardware. The always-on display is more customizable, launching with a choice of four faces that offer up more contextual information once someone comes closer. Each features a combination of time, temperature and air quality.
Google opted to keep touch functionality off the display, instead maintaining the familiar turning radial hardware. The screen itself is 60% larger than the gen 3’s, with an edge to edge design that finally ditches the thick black bezel.
In addition to a more conversational Assistant, new AI models are being leveraged for what Google calls “micro-adjustments,” based on the user’s habits. That’s the whole “learning” part of the product name. The refinements also utilize outside temperature to determine adjustments, all in a bid to save on energy consumption.
The $280 smart thermostat comes with an additional Temperature Sensor in-box. The pebble-like piece of hardware can be placed in any key spot in the home to give the system a better overall notion of average temperature. Additional sensors can be purchased at $40 apiece or $99 for a three-pack.
The third-gen Learning Thermostat will remain on shelves until the stock is fully depleted. The more budget-focused Thermostat E, which is currently priced at $130, is staying put.
Preorders open today for the new Nest Learning Thermostat. It hits shelves August 20.
