Honestly, the only stroke of genius at Nest wasn't the self-learning aspect of the thermostat, or the fact you could set pre-programmed times, or control it fro

Honestly, the only stroke of genius at Nest wasn't the self-learning aspect of the thermostat, or the fact you could set pre-programmed times, or control it from your phone. There had been other products on the market that did this, albeit somewhat poorly. I'm convinced it was the industrial design, of making something that normally is a beige box sexy and nice to look at. Something you put on your wall, that is a necessity is now a piece of high-tech artwork that you can admire. This is evidenced by the fact their smoke alarms, if their "connected home" story were to hold true, haven't done nearly as well. People could care less if their smoke alarms are smart, because you rarely look at your ceiling. You often see your thermostat every day, with most being located on the wall when you walk into your house or apartment. Evidence: I have many non-tech friends and family who own a nest. They do not use any of the advanced features, maybe rarely. They all say the same thing: they bought it because it looked cool and wanted a "finishing touch" on their house. Maybe did so after a kitchen remodel or something else they did to their house, indicating it was more an emotional purchase fueled by aesthetics and ego. Based upon this, it is now unsurprising the hype hasn't scaled. The business was kind of a one hit wonder and it's not shocking the company is floundering.