Hints of Nest integration appear in Google Now
Even if you have a Nest thermostat at home, Google Now will still fail to do anything, but the bare bones of the feature are still there, as first reported by Droid-Life.
The impact on you at home: We've been expecting Google Now integration with Nest since June when the Google-owned company announced the "Works with Nest" program. It's still not here, but it appears to be very close. Nest integration with Google Now will no doubt kick-up controversy over user privacy. But deep integration between the various smartphone platforms and smart home products also promises to make these tools more effective. If Google Now can detect when you're close to home, for example, Nest can more accurately adjust its schedule to suit you. Relying on Google Now, or Coratana, or Siri is a far better solution than a jumble of third-party apps for your toaster, coffee maker, thermostat, and lighting system.
Are you in
It appears Google Now will enable two different kinds of interactions to start. The first will be the kind of behind-the-scenes operation that Google Now is famous for. As you head home, Google Now will be able to ping your thermostat and get your home prepared for your arrival. The second feature will allow you to adjust your temperature remotely using the "Ok Google" voice command feature of Google Now.
Google currently has a web page set-up showing off these two features and a "Yes, I'm In" link to opt-in to integrating Google Now with your Nest thermostat. When you click that link, however, you end up at a 404 web page and nothing happens.
With all the user interface features publicly available we expect Google and Nest to make an announcement about the new integration very soon. We've asked the companies for comment and will update this story should the company respond.