HN Explorer

Google Nest subscription will soon increase by 25%

21 points by peteforde ↗ HN
I have rarely been so let down by a purchase as I have been by my investment in Nest hardware. Of course, it's the software that is the problem; the hardware itself is best-in-class.

I don't know how good or bad the Nest app was before what was clearly a botched acquisition, but the user experience is terrible today. The worst offender is the doorbell camera, which usually takes about 25 seconds to establish a video feed. 4/5 times, the person has already left. If someone actually sticks around, activating the speaker to talk to them is so buggy that it's much more likely to beachball or crash entirely than actually let me tell them to wait.

The whole thing is so broken that it's worse than having no automation at all. The only reason I suffer with it is sunk cost + I believe it would be unethical to sell it.

It is for all of these reasons and more that today's price increase notification makes me see red. They haven't addressed the terrible app, they haven't added any new features. Storage, bandwidth haven't gotten more expensive. There is no new value, no upside. We are simply a captive market and they feel like making 25% more money.

The closest thing to an explanation offered is "Subscription prices can change to keep up with market shifts, which can include inflation and local tax updates." This horseshit is IMO far more insulting than just saying they need to recoup their investment faster.

https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/13856600

Google's acquisition of Nest should stand as one of the sadest bad-outcome acquisition case studies. I really enjoyed reading [the founder] Tony Fadell's biography/advice book "Build" last year. He was professional about it, but the animus was unsubtle. Google ruined an amazing product company.

9 comments

[ 2.2 ms ] story [ 27.2 ms ] thread
harrisonpage
This has been my experience as well: terrible software, terrible latency. Instead of selling it or giving it away, I've been dumping the hardware at the local electronics recycle center. Maybe this is finally what will get me up on a ladder to replace the camera with another – any other – brand.
theGeatZhopa
So this is an important information to burglars and all the other "I can do it in under 25 seconds" guys and gals..
schappim
I completely resonate with your sentiments. The frustration with subpar software and unacceptable latency levels has been an all too familiar scenario for me as well. Google's actions are becoming increasingly frustrating, reminiscent of Microsoft's behavior in the 1990s. I hope Europe continues to hold large tech accountable.
jejeyyy77
lol thats why I'll never buy these subscription based devices.

Eufy is great, and all local.

KomoD
The same Eufy that claimed to be private but in reality uploaded your local-only footage and other information anyway - accessible without authentication and unencrypted (whilst also claiming it was e2ee)...

And claimed to delete images but in reality didn't.

And denied that it was true, silently changing the wording on their site and then continued to lie after being exposed

jejeyyy77
src?
peteforde
See that search box about an inch below this message? Type "eufy" into it...
reify
I empathise sincerely

Its like buying some new rolls of toilet paper and realising that you are 10 sheets short.

It feels like a con but more fool you for believing the hype.

Do excuse me for being old, but, yep the old, but,

why on earth do people bother with this excrement in the first place?

Is it too much to ask to install a battery operated door bell, a wired room thermostat, look out your window when the door bell chimes to see who is visiting you, manually turn up your hifi volume button and worst of all, being an unpaid member of the local police force with your annoying pathetic video door bells.

peteforde
Imagine that you are someone with frustrating limitations on their physical capabilities. It might simply take a long time for you to get to their front door when someone rings. It might be that time wasters (salespeople, real estate agents, cult evangelists) knock so frequently that you might not want to open the door, which you can't see from your window. It could be that getting to the thermostat is painful or impossible. It could be that you've collapsed and need to be able to let in people who can help you.

Perhaps you've realized that the ancient single-wire system in traditional fire detectors doesn't work well or scale effectively, especially in a house that's been subdivided into units, and that it's nice to be able to silence an alarm at 3am in an unoccupied unit while you're on vacation.

Or, maybe you just like cool shit. You are openly wondering why people might be excited about home automation in the community most likely to be inspired by science fiction.

As someone with significant mobility issues, I'm going to take a hard pass on your sincere empathy.