Google shuts down smart thermostat subsidiary Revolv

In April 2016, Google's Nest subsidiary announced it would drop support for Revolv, a rival smart home start-up the company bought in 2014. After that, the company said, the thermostats would cease functioning entirely because they relied on connecting to a central server and had no local-only mode. The decision elicited angry online responses from Revolv owners, who criticised the company for arbitrarily turning off devices that they had purchased. The story also raised wider concerns about vendor control over smart devices. The protests led Google to announce it might offer compensation to Revolv purchasers on a case-by-case basis.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/apr/05/revolv-devices-bricked-google-nest-smart-home

Writer: Alex Hern
Publication: Guardian
Date of publication: 2016-04-05