Google is giving its smart-home range a shake-up, and is discontinuing two of its products to replace them with third-party collaborations. That means, after 12 years, it’s time to say goodbye to the Nest Protect Smoke & CO Alarm, and it’s also ending production of the Nest x Yale Lock, a smart lock that debuted in 2018.
The Nest Protect’s replacement comes from First Alert, a well-established player in the smoke detector space. Arriving in the coming months for $130 and available for preorder now, the First Alert Smart Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Alarm will offer safety voice alerts, safety checkups, and the ability to silence alarms from the app.
It’ll connect with existing Nest Protect devices, so if you have one, you can still install the First Alert system in another spot, and if a fire is detected, both units will sound the alarm. Just like the Protect, it can be set up and controlled through the Google Home app.
Photograph: First Alert; Yale
The Nest x Yale Lock replacement is the Yale Smart Lock with Matter—with no Nest branding at all, though it is “designed for Google Home” and meant to complement Google’s Nest Video Doorbell. Yale claims it’s easy to install, sports 12 months of battery life, has multiple unlocking positions (like an entry code, app, or key), and will be integrated into the Google Home app. It’s also Matter-certified, meaning you should be able to easily connect it with other smart home platforms. It arrives this summer.
Both of Google’s discontinued products will keep receiving security updates (Nest Protect will continue working through its expiration dates), and you’ll still be able to purchase them at retailers while supplies last.
Apple’s WWDC Gets a Date
Tim Cook addresses the crowd during the Apple Event on September 9, 2024, in Cupertino, California.Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
Mark your calendars. Apple has officially confirmed its annual Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) will start on June 9, with an in-person event and live-streamed keynote. This is where we’ll see new software capabilities for the company’s hardware, including the next versions of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS, and visionOS. The specifics of what will be announced will have to wait until then, but rumors are already swirling about what to expect.
Apple is reportedly “preparing one of the most dramatic software overhauls in the company’s history, aiming to transform the interface of the iPhone, iPad, and Mac for a new generation of users,” according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. This will include updating the style of menus, apps, icons, windows, and system buttons for a more consistent look. It will also mark one year since Apple Intelligence was announced. It’s had a rocky launch, and Apple has recently delayed updates to the new Siri experience that would supposedly understand your context. We’ll likely see more news about the voice assistant and future artificial intelligence features to come. —Brenda Stolyar
Rivian Spins Out a New Micromobility Startup
There’s a new micromobility startup in town called Also, and it hails from Rivian. It began as a stealth program to explore how Rivian’s software and hardware prowess could be applied to smaller electric vehicles, but Rivian decided it “deserved to be its own company.” Rivian maintains a minority ownership stake in Also, with opportunities for collaboration and the ability for the company to leverage Rivian’s retail stores. Rivian’s founder and CEO, RJ Scaringe, will be chairman of Also’s board of directors.
Expect to see the first designs from Also later this year, with a flagship product reportedly arriving in 2026, according to TechCrunch. It’s unclear exactly what we’ll see first, but the first product has a seat and two wheels, a screen, a few computers, and a battery. That sounds like an awful lot like an electric bike or motorcycle, but we’ll have to wait and see.
The Pixel 9a Gets a Release Date
Photograph: Brenda Stolyar
Google announced the Pixel 9a last week, but right before the news went out, the company changed the release date from March 26 to a vague “April.” Turns out there was a small component quality issue that affected a “small number of Pixel 9a devices,” and Google wanted to investigate it. All of this seems to be sorted now.
