Online retail giant Amazon is not in the tech business to make friends as the company has reportedly informed Google that it would be pulling sales of the Google owned Nest range of smart home accessories from its store. Google and Amazon have been clashing over control of the next generation of tech for smart home devices. Amazon had informed Nest in a conference call late last year that it would not be selling the company’s latest products, which includes devices like the Nest Cam IQ and forthcoming Hello video-enabled doorbell. Speculations have been made that it was Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos who made the call as Amazon said that the decision came “from the top” and had nothing to do with Nest’s product quality. It’s is likely that third parties using Amazon’s marketplace will continue to offer the Nest accessories. Even though Nest has resolved to discontinue dealings with Amazon.
The ongoing battle between Amazon and Google should be blamed as it seems to have been triggered by Google’s announcement to absorb Nest into its Google Home division, a strategy it claims will enable Nest to create a more “thoughtful” home. Google purchased Nest in 2014 in a $3.2 billion deal, after Google reorganized it into the Alphabet conglomerate, Nest became its own company and has only been recently absorbed back into Google in February. But Google is rapidly catching up with Amazon. Google Assistant, a rival to Amazon Alexa and the Google Home speakers, which compete with the Amazon Echo, is rapidly gaining market traction.
Amazon, however, seems to be redirecting people away from its competitors towards the Alexa platform. Although Apple had done something similar when it cut off Fitbit from its online retail store after introducing the Apple Watch. Fitbit, however, claimed they wouldn’t work with Apple’s HealthKit framework. In 2015, Amazon removed Apple TV from availability with the claim that it did not “interact well” with Amazon Prime Video. Apple had to open up the Apple TV to all third-party developers before Amazon started selling the Apple TV again last year and it later added its video-streaming app to the Apple TV App Store.
Once existing stock runs dry, Amazon will no longer be offering Nest Learning Thermostat to customers for sale. However, reports have it that Nest wants to present its entire lineup to customers or nothing at all. The battle just got tougher as Amazon in addition to its ban on Nest product from its site does not carry the Google’s Home line, Pixel smartphone, or Chromecast hardware. Google also returned the favour in December by blocking YouTube compatibility with Amazon’s FireTV platform and Echo Show device. The tougher the battle gets with the growing competition between this two tech giants it is obvious that the casualty of war would be their customers if a white flag is not waved anytime soon.
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