Nest challenges Apple's HomeKit, makes Weave open to devs
Nest Weave, the communications protocol not dissimilar to Apple’s own HomeKit, is now open to third-party developers.
The protocol works with Nest devices, allowing products like the Nest Thermostat to talk with one another. As such, before now the platform was used with Nest products only; it was closed, and worked with (and for) the Google-owned company’s growing number of products. However, that’s all changed.
In a blog post, Nest confirmed today that Weave is now open to third-party developers, allowing products from other companies to tap into the protocol and join the Nest-powered communication network. This, in theory, should make home automation nirvana a little easier to achieve, although similar platforms (including Apple’s own HomeKit) have taught us to keep our hopes from getting too high.
Nest Weave.
Online, Nest explained:
Nest Weave lets devices talk directly to each other and to Nest. And because it’s reliable, compact and secure, it works great for all kinds of products – like a lightbulb that needs to turn on and off without any lag time, or a door lock that runs on battery power, or a security system that needs to work even if Wi-Fi goes down.
Works with Nest goes way beyond our cloud API and Nest Weave. Over the years, we’ve built a connected home platform that works not just for our camera, thermostat, and smoke and CO alarm, but for all kinds of products. Whether you want to make an app, hardware product or both, you can pick and choose whatever you need: an operating system, communication protocol, cloud services, user accounts, security and more.
HomeKit, on the other hand, is a growing platform, too. Not long ago, we heard that Apple would add support for Philips Hue to HomeKit this month, in October. Before that, we saw three new products from popular accessory maker iDevices, all of which would reportedly support HomeKit. Despite this, however, true home automation has so far failed to take off, at least for the masses. Even longtime iOS users, like myself, may have dabbled with a couple of products, but have nevertheless failed to invest more heavily in a home automation setup.
Part of the reason for this, for some time, was the lack of a viable platform. Like HomeKit, Nest Weave could help solve this problem for would-be home automators. It’ll be interesting to see how the product develops; we’ll keep you posted.