Google Is Killing First and Second Gen Nest Thermostats
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Google's decision to discontinue support for first and second-gen Nest Thermostats has sparked outrage, with many commenters lamenting the planned obsolescence and "money-grubbing nature" of the tech industry. While some point out that consumers have the option to choose more durable, non-connected thermostats, others argue that companies like Google are entitled and prioritize profits over customer satisfaction. The discussion also touches on the desire for open-source, internet-connected devices, with one commenter wistfully imagining a thermostat running Micropython. As one commenter aptly put it, being forced to buy a new device after being unilaterally "lobotomized" by the manufacturer is a bitter pill to swallow.
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And also,
> We’ll reach out to eligible users in the US and Canada for the Nest Learning Thermostat (4th gen) at a special price: $149.99 [219.99 CAD] (nearly 50% off).
However, we got a Nest from the Oregon Energy trust for $50 I think. So, not a great price.
Years ago, you'd buy a cheap thermostat and it'd last 30 years or whatever. But the tech industry had to improve that by instead making them last less than half as long and cost substantially more.
I understand the idea that smart stuff is cool or whatever, but it feels like it'd be smarter if it lasted as long as the thing they're trying to replace...
Gotta juice those numbers before moving on to the next role.
No one outside of HongKong ever seems to want to sell devices like that though. I don't know if it's a culture thing or what.
Offering a 50% discount on the next generation sounds pretty shitty.
I guess the only way out is to vote with your wallet.
YouTube and Gmail are the only Google services left in my life.
Destroy the market until they do better.
The lesson here (once again) is just: don’t buy hardware from Google
All sellers of devices of this nature will eventually do this, if they can. It is a sad fact in my opinion.
I'm not trying to be a shill for a trillion dollar company but I'd probably put up with the annoyance of swapping the thermostat once every 10+ years over switching to a different company if I was happy with it.