“Only a few days after ‘father of the iPod’ Tony Fadell agreed to sell thermostat and smoke detector maker Nest to Google for north of three billion dollars, Apple senior vice president (and former Fadell colleague) Phil Schiller has unfollowed the Nest CEO and the Nest company on Twitter,” Mark Gurman reports for 9to5Mac.
“As the protector of Apple’s brand, Schiller’s unfollowing of Fadell and Nest is perhaps unsurprising,” Gurman reports. “With the Nest deal, a source says that Google will gain approximately 200 former Apple employees.”
“The majority of Nest employees worked at Apple over the course of their careers, with many being involved in high-profile projects like the iPod, iPad, and iPhone,” Gurman reports. “The design of the Nest Thermostat and Nest Protect have also been compared to the designs of Apple products, so the fact that Nest’s products are now under the umbrella of Apple’s fiercest competitor may not be a pleasing sight for Apple’s marketing head.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: We never followed Tony or Nest Labs, but we are replacing our Nest thermostats with fuller featured, far more reliable Honeywell devices.
A lot has been made of Google getting former Apple employees with their wild overpayment for Nest Labs. However, if Apple really wanted and valued these employees, they’d still be at Apple.
I considered a nest thermostat (for $250!). Would have bought it if it could have done what I needed. Bought a Honeywell thermostat ($99) that does exactly what I need. Liked it so much that I bought another.
Don’t think Tony really cares one way or the other. It’s business. They both understand that. It’s not a soap opera. Good take MDN.
People need to wake up and realize Googles sole purpose and how they generate those billions of dollars.
Just think of google as the commercial version of the NSA. You know, the for profit version. That will remind you to hate them and their methods even more.
That is the best description of Google I have ever read.
I did buy a nest smoke detector. I now regret: it’s creepy. It monitors when you go to bed (green LED indicator when you turn out the lights in the evening. It monitors when you are up during the night (a white light to light your way). It has motion sensors, light sensors, chemical sensors (to detect smoke and CO). It has wi-fi and a web account to collect my data. Google already knows what I search, what I watch on Youtube, what I buy. They have an image of my house and the rest of my street. Why would I let them have data from my nest. Google looks evil-er and evil-er. Don’t infest my nest.
You should buy an Audi this year then Google will know where you go, at what time and for how long. Everyone will be sooo jealous of the awesome ads you will see
I really wanted to get the new S3 until I read about the Audi-Google deal. No more.
I won’t buy any car with Google built in so if they take over the auto industry I will just stick to “classic” cars.
Don’t discount the former apple employees. These guys had access to the approach that was taken for developing the best mobile devices ever made (to date).
Also people move to go in a different direction, not just because they were not worth it. Google have probably gain some good talent. We’ll have to see if they can make anything of them.
No Nest products for me. I don’t use google anymore and won’t aid them in anyway if I can help it.
I’ve seen the Nest demonstrated and thought about eventually getting one, but after being bought by Goog that’s not going to happen.
However… Schiller’s unfollow and MDN’s take both strike me as rather juvenile.
“… fuller featured, far more reliable Honeywell devices.” Really? Can’t say that about my Honeywell thermostat.
Wasn’t it Honeywell that hit Nest with what was essentially an absurd “look and feel” lawsuit because the Nest is round.
In addition, just because a number of Nest people are former employees of Apple (or any company, for that matter), it doesn’t follow that they are incompetent losers who couldn’t hack it. Incompetent people tend to get fired… although it does not follow that people who are fired are incompetent. Sometimes it’s just office politics and such.
Even at the best companies, talented and intelligent people leave good jobs for all kinds of worthwhile reasons.
I own the high-end Nest thermostat and it is great. I was looking to get more and get one of the smoke detectors to. However, I was unaware the Google was a part owner and now a full owner and I have strong concerns about Google having access to my comings, goings and energy usage. I have not ruled out the smoke detector yet. If it doesn’t report back data to Google, I may still consider it.
How childish…a man of 50 years+ unleashes a form of disapproval (revenge) by unfollowing someone via social media. There’s something very juvenile about this action and that it’s considered noteworthy news.
I don’t like the Nest/Google news, but this article’s import is sad…esp b/c I’m Apple deep & in light of these kind of reports: & .
+1
Jeez, it’s just Twitter. So he doesn’t wanna read their posts any more. Give me a break.
I agree 100%. Talk about making a mountain out of a molehill. Sheesh.
Totally mountain out of a molehill!
… wait, are you talking about the original article’s authors, or Ripabo’s comment?
What’s more childish is MDN replacing their Nest thermostats for Honeywell models just because Google bought Nest, and then stating that Honeywell is far more reliable after singing the praises of Nest for months. Hypocrisy.
I’ll keep my Nest thermostats. They are fantastic devices.
Not fantastic if they allow Google to spy on your intimate comings and goings. No way is that move childish. 1 star for you.
“Unleashes”? He clicked a button. He didn’t make a big deal out of it. He didn’t make any sort of pronouncement. He just clicked a button. He might have even been 50-50 about it, but in the end decided to unfollow.
“in light of these reports”? You are reading *way* too much into this.
Did Schiller friend Fadell’s G+ account then?
I have the nest protect smoke detector as well as the second generation thermostat. I hated to hear google bought the company, but I will not get rid of those devices despite this happening. I’m not happy about it, and wished apple had bought the company, however, theres nothing as nice as the nest thermost, and that wont change regardless of who owns the company. I like the smoke detectors too. I will always use Apple products when I can because they are the best.
You echo my sentiment. I invested in a couple of Nest thermostats for my home. They are already saving me money and I like the flexibility of controlling them from anywhere with a web connection. Sure, I hated the news that Google was taking the company over, but the thermostat is a very well made and implemented product that should not suffer from this acquisition.
I can’t believe that somebody out there has actually written an article about this. Can’t we get rid of the Internet and go back to news being news?
Writing the article is almost as sad as someone tracking follows and unfollows on twitter
Google pays over the odds to gain skill set of workforce.
surely not…. this has never been done before…. not even Apple would buy a company to get the workforce that comes with it…..I’m shocked.
Equally, how many of Nests potential products were first considered by their workforce when working for Apple ?
Bull. ALL tech companies take over others for the technology, products AND MINDS. Even good old Apple. About 50 times.
Really? You don’t see A difference?
Google bought ex Apple employee tech!
Oh really! Is Honeywell giving any trade in value for the $250 Nest towards there also way expensive thermostats.
And also REALLY!!! Who in their right mind would pass on $3.2 billion because they wanted to stay pure. Except of course those bozos at Snapchat!
apple is a gestalt ..everything they do, how they do it, how they approach, how they inspire their colleagues to see the current vision, etc. some people say it’s magic …but, it’s a gestalt. it’d be pointless to try and list all the things that make a contribution.
conversely, gestalts are a little bit like magic. i’m pretty sure, though, that petty jealousies and petty resentments aren’t part of the magic. i bet sj would tell his fellow officers to stay focused cuz no good vision needs a distraction unless, of course, your girlfriend says she needs a new pair of shoes. and maybe, a bra and a nice top. maybe, some nice stretchy jeans.
Back in the day we were always taught not to speak ill of competitors. Compliment them, then move on to why your stuff is so much better.
If Apple doesn’t like that Google bought Nest, they should’ve bought Nest themselves — back when they had the chance.
How do we know Apple ever had the chance?
The bigger check always has a chance. But buying Nest does not Apple’s product line or philosophy in acquisitions.
Not so childish. If you don’t want to have anything to do with Google (as I don’t — long before Android was released), you don’t want to have anything to do with Google.
I wish people would give the model number of alternative thermostats that they have found and liked. My refund check from Nest arrived the Friday BEFORE the Google announcement so I just dodged the bullet but the Honeywell the oil co. installed after they repaired the damage the Nest had caused (repair and replacement paid for by Nest) is crap. Model TH4110D. Thanks.
I replaced Honeywell thermostats with Nest ones because Honeywell’s interface is total garbage. There’s no reason the instruction manual needs to be 100 pages for a thermostat.
Yeah except those look like ass compared to the Nest.
Google, still trying to be Apple:
With the Nest deal, a source says that Google will gain approximately 200 former Apple employees.
And for Google’s next trick… 😆
Apple has an versatile, identifiable product line…Google has a tons of irons in the fire…huge difference
Just checked out out the Honeywell’s WiFi touch screen smart Thermostat.
Looks great with more features and larger screen – only $197 on Amazon. Model RTH9590WF1003/U.
Got it !! …………No money for you Tony “Google” Fadell!
I have a Honeywell touch thermostat with two wifi satellite thermostats. It’s all hooked into a wifi four damper system with a Honeywell steam humidifier. Works great and very efficient, but I set the temperature, not the freakin’ thermostat.
The Nest is cool, but the Webee is what I’ll be investing in. Not as invasive, and definitely better A.I. http://igg.me/at/webee-smart-home-automation/x/5944165
I guess I am just an old fuddy ruddy. I cannot believe that we are becoming a nation of people too lazy to set their thermostat, too lazy to even push a button on their TV remote, wanting to just talk to it or wave their hand. So lazy they cannot even walk to the front door to lock it, even so lazy they cannot turn on or off a light. Just how lazy are people becoming? The whole thing is nuts in my view.
If u live in Cupertino u don’t get them temperature swings of 36F in the morning, 82F in the afternoon, and depending on which room gets the afternoon sun, even more. That’s why it’s nice to have damper controls for each room. Some rooms will stay cold most of the time and don’t need much air circulation, other rooms like bathrooms are warm all the time.
I’m not sure it’s just laziness.
Here’s an article from the BBC that explains that – in some cases – smart thermostats can cut fuel bills in the UK by 25%.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25779937
However, if Apple really wanted and valued these employees, they’d still be at Apple.
What a pathetic, petty, sophomoric opinion.
Maybe the employees in question wanted a new challenge.
Maybe they wanted to gain equity in a new venture with lots of upside.
Maybe working at Nest with Fadell was a preferable environment for them personally.
In short, MDN has no idea why these people left their jobs at Apple.
An observation though: if the people who worked at Apple were so poor at what they did and so lacking in value – as MDN chooses to infer from Apple’s lack of interest in retaining them or chooses to imply to its audience – then why did MDN go and buy Nest products – in which it is obviously so dissatisfied – in the first place.
To Phil, and on MDN’s take. Grow the fuck up.