Google‘s retreat from smart home innovation signals a concerning shift in priorities, with AI taking center stage while once-flagship Nest products fade into the background. At Google I/O 2025, the complete absence of smart home announcements marks a stark contrast to previous years when the category received significant attention. This trend raises questions about Google’s commitment to competing with Amazon in the connected home space and whether its AI focus might eventually reinvigorate or further diminish its smart home ecosystem.
The big picture: Google’s smart home division has become noticeably absent from major announcements, with Google I/O 2025 featuring no mentions of Nest products or smart home innovations.
- The company that once aggressively challenged Amazon’s dominance with regular hardware releases has gone years without launching new flagship smart speakers or displays.
- Google’s product release cycle has slowed dramatically, with its last smart speaker launching five years ago in 2020 and its most recent smart display debuting in 2021.
Historical context: Google strategically entered the smart home market in 2016 with its Google Home speaker announcement at I/O, directly responding to Amazon Echo’s growing popularity.
- By 2019, Google had acquired and integrated Nest, launching the Nest Hub Max and making a clear push for smart home market share.
- The company’s smart home announcements once held prime positioning at Google I/O keynotes, particularly in pre-pandemic years.
Warning signs: Google’s extensive history of abandoning products and services raises legitimate concerns about the future of its smart home ecosystem.
- While Amazon continues refining and expanding its smart home offerings, Google’s hardware innovation in the category has stagnated.
- The smart home category’s complete absence from Google I/O’s main stage presentations suggests a significant strategic deprioritization.
Silver linings: Despite the concerning trends, Google has made some recent moves that indicate the smart home hasn’t been completely abandoned.
- The company released its first new Nest Learning Thermostat in nine years alongside a new Google TV Streamer.
- Google has actively participated in the Matter initiative to improve smart home interoperability across different ecosystems and manufacturers.
AI integration potential: Gemini, Google’s AI assistant, could eventually enhance smart home functionality if properly implemented.
- A beta version of Gemini began rolling out to Google’s smart home devices last fall.
- Google has outlined plans for Gemini to help users locate specific security camera footage and create automated routines for everyday tasks like securing homes at bedtime.
The bottom line: Google’s pivot toward AI could eventually benefit its smart home ecosystem, but the current lack of innovation and public commitment raises legitimate concerns about whether Google will remain a significant player in the connected home market.
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