No one should be surprised any more when Google kills more products, but it doesn’t stop being incredibly frustrating. Google recently announced that the next excellent product on the chopping block is the Nest Protect. I would argue this was the second revolutionary product Nest came out with after the thermostat. Far more expensive than alternatives, it became extremely popular because of it’s aesthetic and excellent functionality. It’s a product that came along, completely blew away everything that came before it, and people were willing to pay a premium for it. The motion sensing for home presence was way ahead of it’s time, and triggering the clever little night lights was very smart and looks super cool.

Nest Protect has not been updated for many years now, but honestly, it didn’t need to be. They still work incredibly well. Why is Google killing it off? Honestly who knows, other than they probably get some money from the new “partnership” with First Alert, which is an uglier and less functional version, and I think it’s clear that Google doesn’t particularly care about any product that isn’t a conduit for advertising for them.

Google is also killing off the Nest / Yale smart lock that they used to make, which is less frustrating. It was always more of a half assed Yale lock trying to talk to Nest in a weird way. It was neat when Google had their Alarm System (which was fantastic and also killed off), and the Nest / Yale lock would also disarm the alarm when you unlocked the door, but it is a weird product that doesn’t feel very “Nest”y. The replacement is essentially a better looking version of the same thing from Yale, and it seems like it’s more just dropping the Nest labeling. Not terribly surprising or upsetting. There are much better options out there, and that remains true.

I’m so tired of buying Google products because they are significantly better than the competition (at least at the time), and then being punished by Google’s lack of focus and follow through. I also really wish Google had not been the one to buy Nest, which they have completely squandered.