The Nest thermostat still appears to be searchable on the Apple website in the UK.
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For a while it was interesting that despite the fact that Google now owns Nest that Apple actually continued to sell their products in their stores. It is unclear as to why Apple decided to pull Nest from their shelves, but this move came after several home products that worked with Apple’s HomeKit made their way online.
Apple has a tendency to reshuffle its products, and it doesn’t look like Nest devices will entirely disappear from Apple stores. However, Apple has been diving deeper into the smart home industry with the creation of HomeKit, a framework based on the company’s iOS mobile operating system that consolidates the controls of smart home devices.
Nest confirmed to Forbes in a statement that new Nest products will be available “through Apple and other retail channels in the coming weeks”, but did not comment on the future of its thermostat.
According to reports, although the thermostat was only recently discovered as missing from Apple’s product offerings, it was removed earlier this month.
Earlier in July, Apple Stores launched the sale of ecobee3, which is the first HomeKit-compatible smart thermostat.
Apple’s stores were among the first promoters of Nest, with the company tapped as an exclusive partner back in 2012. Nest says that this removal of its products is only for the short term.
But while designed and conceived by Apple alumni, Nest was purchased in 2014 by Google for some US$3.2 billion.
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One issue may be that Nest Thermostats don’t support HomeKit, and Google hasn’t announced support for HomeKit. The company was cofounded by Tony Fadell, the father of the iPod, and other former Apple employees.
