Smart home got the cold shoulder at Google’s I/O keynote

From game-changing text diffusion models and cutting-edge AR glasses to AI videos with sound and virtual clothing try-ons, there was plenty of amazing tech to see during Google’s I/O keynote on Tuesday. And for the smart home? Zip.

The closest we got to a smart home shout-out was when a Google exec said that Gemini—the star of the show—is “coming to your watch, your car dashboard, even your TV.” As Google puts its Google TV Streamer under the umbrella of smart home, we’ll count that as a fleeting reference. Very fleeting. 

Officially, Google has promised that Gemini is coming to Nest devices. Gemini on Nest speakers has been available on a public-preview basis for months now, and back in March, Google confirmed that a “new experience powered by Gemini” is coming to smart speakers and displays. 

Around the same time, Google said that we can “expect more helpful home devices in the coming months and years,” while reminding us that it did roll out two smart products last year, the fourth-generation Nest Learning Thermostat and the aforementioned Google TV Streamer, which doubles as a smart home hub. 

Still, there’s growing concern in the Google Nest community that Google is losing interest in making new smart home products. Besides steadily dropping home-oriented features from Google Assistant, Google recently discontinued its Nest Protect smoke and carbon monoxide alarm, as well as the Nest x Yale Lock, while announcing that it will drop out of those hardware categories altogether. (First Alert and Yale have stepped in with their product replacements.) 

A month ago, Google followed up by cutting support for the first- and second-generation Nest Learning Thermostats. While the older thermostats will still work when used manually, they can no longer be controlled using the Nest or Google Home apps, and out-of-home control is out of the question. At the same time, Google announced it will exit the thermostat market in Europe entirely, blaming “ various hardware and software requirements that make it challenging to build for the diverse set of homes.” 

Taken separately, those developments wouldn’t warrant much concern about Google’s future in the smart home—after all, older products do get discontinued, features get deprecated, and regional conditions sometimes merit strategic withdrawals. 

But taken together, the steady nixing of products and features combined with the dearth of new devices makes Google’s Nest ecosystem feel stagnant, at best. Yes, there was the new Google TV Streamer (which we didn’t love) and the revamped Nest Thermostat (good, but not our favorite) last year, but it’s been four years since Google unveiled a new Nest smart display and approaching five since we got a new Nest speaker. 

Now, maybe Google will surprise us this fall with a new line of Nest products, including souped-up speakers and displays, all primed and ready for this “new experience” powered by Gemini. Maybe this is just a lull before the new generative-AI Nest era begins. Personally, I’d be delighted.  

Am I holding my breath? No.