Again?

Yes, in 2014 Google did purchase Nest. The company that made the Smart Thermostat popular, thanks to being the brainchild of 'one of the fathers of the iPod' Tony Fadell, has been working almost independently of the search giant.

It has not been an entirely harmonious relationship, with several key Nest personnel leaving for various reasons. Still, when you talk about a Smart Thermostat 'Nest' will be the first name that comes to mind.

Smart Homes and Smart Devices have become a category and help save energy, money and increase security and linked with a clever Smart Assistant can make things extremely easy.

Nest sold more devices in 2017 than the previous two years combined. Meanwhile, Google has sold tens of millions of products for the home in just the last year, as more people use the Google Assistant to listen to their favourite music, control their connected devices, and get useful information about their day.

Google parent company, Alphabet, has decided to combine the efforts of the two teams and bring the Nest and Google Hardware teams together. Hoping to create a 'more thoughtful home' to take care of the people inside it.

The main benefits will be realised through bringing the design, engineering and software teams from both companies together to see what they come up with.

Hopefully more than a different coloured ring for your thermostat.