Google drops something of a bombshell at the 2019 I/O conference-- the search giant is phasing out the Works With Nest smart home program in favour of a Works With Google Assistant framework.
According to Google, the move brings tighter privacy regulation, since it will only allow data sharing between a selection of hand-picked partners. However it really the result of a restructuring of Nest, since what was once an standalone entity (if one under the vast Alphabet umbrella) has been folded into the Google hardware division, something established by a rebrand to "Google Nest."
“Nest is a long-established brand,” Google VP Rishi Chandra tells Variety. “We want Google Nest to represent the helpful home.”