Google’s I/O 2025 keynote was packed with cutting-edge tech: next-gen AR glasses, text-to-video AI with realistic sound, and virtual try-ons that make online shopping feel futuristic. But if you’re a smart home fan waiting for signs of life in the Google Nest ecosystem? You got almost nothing.
The only real reference came in passing when a presenter said Gemini—the centerpiece of Google’s AI efforts—is “coming to your watch, your car dashboard, even your TV.” Sure, if you squint, you can count that as a smart home mention thanks to the Google TV Streamer. But that’s a stretch. There were no new devices, no smart home demos, and no meaningful focus on the connected home.
Yes, Google has previously said Gemini will be coming to Nest speakers and displays. In fact, the public preview has been available for months. Back in March, we were promised a “new experience powered by Gemini,” and Google did remind everyone that it launched the fourth-gen Nest Thermostat and the Google TV Streamer last year. But that was then—and since that announcement, it’s been all silence or setbacks.
In the past few months, Google has discontinued several Nest products, including the Nest Protect smoke detector and Nest x Yale smart lock. Worse, it’s pulled out of those product categories entirely, leaving other brands to pick up the slack. Just weeks ago, Google also dropped support for its first- and second-gen Nest Learning Thermostats. Those devices can still be adjusted manually, but the ability to control them remotely or via app is gone. And in Europe? Google is quitting the thermostat game entirely, blaming the region’s complex standards and requirements.
Taken one by one, these decisions might seem routine—end-of-life product cycles, changing focus, regional challenges. But when stacked together, the trend is hard to ignore. Features are vanishing, products are being sunsetted, and nothing new is replacing them. It paints a picture of a platform that’s treading water at best—and slowly sinking at worst.
Could Google surprise us later this year with new smart displays, AI-first Nest speakers, and a real Gemini-powered home hub experience? Maybe. But unless that moment comes soon, it’s fair for loyal Nest users to wonder whether Google is quietly backing out of the smart home world it once promised to lead.