Last year, Google took its Nest Detect sensors off of its store shortly after discontinuing its Nest Secure hardware. This was likely done in anticipation of the company’s upcoming new devices created in partnership with ADT, but what they failed to realize is that existing Nest Secure owners would like to continue to purchase Detect sensors for additional windows and doors in their home in the interim. After some backlash, Google then stated that it would replenish it’s stock of the $49 sensors by mid-December. Be it because of the pandemic or otherwise, it failed to deliver on that promise.
Here we are three, almost four months into the new year, and the Nest Detect is officially back in stock on the Google Store. There’s no telling how long it will remain though, so if you are currently in need of an extra one or two while you wait to see what Google and ADT are cooking up later this year, I would recommend you snag them while they still exist. Google has been on a ‘sunsetting’ spree for its older hardware lately.
In the past, the moment a new device was announced, they would support the previous generation model for a while longer while they got users acclimated to the new devices and gained their trust, but this year, they seem to be discontinuing things left and right before a replacement is even announced. I’m not sure what that’s about, but I anticipate we will continue to see this trend as they aggressively seek to onboard users to their vision more quickly.
The Nest Detect, along with its core device – the Nest Secure – are both going to continue to receive security updates and software bug fixes for the foreseeable future, but Google has stated that they don’t intend to bring any new features to them. This translates to “enjoy it while it lasts and get ready to migrate” in technology corporation speak. I think that even after the new ADT hardware releases, I’m going to give it some time to breathe and see what comes of it and how it’s received. Because of this stance, I may pick up some more Nest Detect sensors in the meantime. Will you do the same, or are you all the way on board with the new devices that we don’t even really know much about yet? ADT has been around for over 100 years, so there’s a greater guarantee that these will be more reliable than Nest has been historically.
