14 DAY TRIAL // Some things that happen on the technology and corporate fronts are enough to make you ask yourself if you're living in the middle of a conspiracy. The Nest Thermostat has just become fuel for that speculation.
About a year ago, Google bought Nest, a company that “reinvents unloved but important home products, like the thermostat and the smoke alarm.” Those are the words Nest uses to describe itself on the official website.
Since Google wants to be at the forefront of the Internet of Things (even if it doesn't use those exact words), Nest was a target too enticing to pass up.
For that purpose, Google has decided to integrate Google Now functionality into the Nest thermostat, allowing you to vocally command it.
How to add voice command to Nest
We explored the abilities of the Nest Thermostat back in early November, and reached the conclusion that the device balanced autonomy and user control quite well.
However, while there were already many options for controlling its operations, voice commands were beyond its reach at the time.
Now, Google has made it quite easy to vocally command the item, and you don't even need to be near it to do it. In fact, you can be across town.
First you have to go to workswithnest.google.com and enable Google Now. This feeds data about when you leave your work to head home and allows you to employ voice search to more directly set the warmth.
Using the first option means that you can tell the Nest to start heating your home (or cooling it) in advance of your arrival. Pretty self-explanatory really.
The second option is the important part though. All you need to do is launch the Google app on your phone and either tap the mic or say “OK Google, set Nest to X degrees.”
Of course, the true purpose of Google Now integration might be sinister
Well, maybe not the purpose, but the potential for misuse. Google already gathers a lot of data that should ultimately stay private, just from knowing what you search for on the Internet. With Google Now integrated into Nest, it only increases what Google knows about how you live your life.
Let's just continue to hope that Google isn't running or part of some conspiracy, Big Brother-ish resources notwithstanding. After all, just because a detective prone to logic leaps says the purpose of aglets is sinister doesn't mean it really is, right?
