Google is preparing voice commands for Nest thermostats within Google Now, and it’s not far off being ready for roll-out.
It’s been 11 months since the announcement came that Google had purchased Nest Labs, the maker of some incredibly smart thermostats, for $3.2 billion.
Now, almost a year on, it seems Google is almost ready to provide the first tangible link between the services the two companies provide.
As pointed out by Droid-life, Google Now currently accepts commands relating to Nest devices. If you say something like “OK Google, set Nest to 20 degrees,” it will recognise and try to complete the task.
We confirmed this to be the case on a smartphone running Android 4.4.4 KitKat. Of course, we were told in response that Google Now had “Failed to control Nest” as there was “No thermostat found.”
On the same card, however, there’s a “Works with Nest” link that takes you to a website that allows you to opt in to using the Google app on Android or iOS to operate your Nest thermostat. This apparently will including getting “helpful Now cards about your home’s temperature.”
The app will also work with Nest to pre-heat or cool your home when it detects that you’re on your way home. Of course, hitting the “Yes, I’m in” button takes you to an error page, so the functionality clearly isn’t quite ready yet.
Still, it looks as if Google Now is going to get even more useful in the very near future.
Read More: Smart Home: How Apple, Google, and Samsung will take over your home
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
