As a smart-home war with Amazon looms, Nest releases its first new products since rejoining Google (AMZN, GOOG, GOOGL)

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March 15, 2018 9:47 PM

Nest says that it's committed to openness, and hopes Amazon feels the same way.

Nest announced the availability of the $229 Nest Hello video doorbell and the $249 Nest x Yale smart lock, as well as a remote temperature sensor for the Nest Learning Thermostat.
The new Nest products launch just weeks after Amazon announced it had purchased video doorbell maker Ring for about $1 billion. Amazon also will no longer sell devices from Nest.
Nest itself was recently reabsorbed into Google.
While a smart-home war with Amazon is definitely on the horizon, Nest tells Business Insider that it's committed to openness and cross-device compatibility, and hopes Amazon feels the same way.

A smart-home war between Amazon and Google is brewing.

Just weeks after Google announced that it would reabsorb Nest after years of independent operation, Amazon snatched up video doorbell maker Ring for a reported $1 billion. And that's not to mention the fact that Amazon won't be selling any of Nest's products.

Now, Nest is gearing up to fire back: On Thursday, Nest announced that the previously-announced Nest Hello video doorbell ($229) and Nest x Yale smart door lock ($249) are now both available for sale — plus, a $39 temperature sensor for the company's flagship Nest Learning Thermostat.

The products themselves play into the combined Google-Nest ecosystem.

For instance, if you use the Nest app to open the new Nest x Yale lock, it can automatically disarm the Nest Secure home security system. Or, you can use the Google Home smart speaker to cue up the Nest Hello doorbell video feed to play on a TV with a Google Chromecast. Indeed, a recent software update turns the Nest Cam IQ Indoor camera into a Google Assistant-powered smart speaker — with the limitation that it can't play music, only answer questions and control other smart-home gear.

It's that ecosystem, as well as its Google-powered artificial intelligence, that Nest sees as making all the difference, says

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