Hinted at by the company earlier in the month, Nest recently debuted a minor, but notable, update for its iOS app, introducing a few user interface tweaks and ways to share live videos from the company's indoor and outdoor cameras. For those users with a Nest Thermostat and an Apple Watch, the 5.6.0 update should be of particular interest, since it brings with it the ability to let you adjust the temperature of your home, right from your wrist, without needing to open the iOS app (via The Verge).
Additionally, there's a new "Spaces" grouping feature that provides an organized way to place Nest products by which room of the house they're in, and lets users view all of their live camera feeds at once, if on Wi-Fi. Additional viewers can be added into these live streams now, as well, thanks to a new web-based site, video.nest.com (which doesn't appear to be up-and-running at the time of writing), where a password can be shared to a trusted third party who might need to check in on the cameras.
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Nest detailed the full list of updates in the App Store:
We have several new features for you.
- Spaces groups your Nest products by room and lets you see all your cameras at once. And if you’re connected to Wi-Fi, shows you all of their live views.
- Share a password protected live view of your camera. Now grandma can see what the kids are up to at video.nest.com.
- 1080p support for Dropcam Pro.
- Automatic video quality adjustment helps make sure you get a continuous, clear picture.
- We’ve also added support for Apple Watch. You can now control your Nest Thermostat from your wrist.
Nest has faced a few public-facing appearance issues in the past, centered around the lengthy gaps between product releases, and some software issues with the Nest Protect line of smoke detectors that ultimately led to a product-wide recall. In June, Nest co-founder Tony Fadell announced that he was leaving the company to "create and disrupt other industries," while speculation from workers inside the company suggested many Nest employees "complained publicly about Fadell's management, while claiming the business had missed sales targets, botched upgrades and delayed future products."
The Nest iOS app can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]
Top Rated Comments
EcoBee 3 is vastly superior in more ways than HomeKit integration, at this point, Nest is the MacMini of smart thermostats.