Well, yeah. Google is buying Nest.
Nest makes physical products that consumers love, like its learning thermostat (review). Google wants to get more into hardware because they understand that people have relationships with their gadgets, and they understand that “smart” or internet connected devices are the future and even the present, and they understand that gadgets can be sold for profit and that this is a more challenging but potentially more rewarding business than selling advertisements, and they understand that they could presumably put Android on Nest devices and thereby get Android in more homes.
I think there’s a small possibility – maybe 15% chance – that this will go really well for Google and for Nest.
It’s much more likely that Nest will get some attention from Google in the next few months and that there will never again be a great Nest product that isn’t already in the pipeline.
I feel bad for the employees at Nest who made it great.