Google goes cold on Europe: Stops making smart thermostats for continental conditions

And just-about bricks some of its older models everywhere

Google has given up on smart thermostats in Europe.

The advertising giant last Friday slipped its Euro-plans into a post that announced first-and-second-gen Nest smart thermostats will no longer receive software updates as of October 25, 2025.

The three models that will exit support are 2011’s first-gen Learning Thermostat, 2012’s second-gen Learning Thermostat, and 2014’s European version of the latter .

Google’s change means apps its Nest and Home apps won’t be able to remotely control the thermostats. Users will be able to use the thermostats the old fashioned way: By walking up to it and using their hands.

But even that may not be a great option because a Google support document states that once software and security updates stop flowing “you may experience an unpredictable decline in performance if you attempt to use it continuously.”

If you toss your thermostat, Google will send you a postage-paid shipping label that allows you to post it to a recycling outfit.

Google’s still working on new stuff for its current Nest thermostats, and promised “Later this year you also will be able to create and adjust schedules for these devices in the Google Home app for the first time.”

Chill, Europe

Google’s post also includes news that it will “no longer launch new Nest thermostats in Europe.”

“Heating systems in Europe are unique and have a variety of hardware and software requirements that make it challenging to build for the diverse set of homes,” Google’s post states.

The web colossus is therefore “enabling a wide range of established smart thermostat companies to build energy devices and experiences that cater to these markets.”

That’s consistent with the strategy Google announced in May 2024 when it declared Google Home is a platform for developers to target rather than a playground for manufacturers of smart devices. The Google Home APIs therefore make it possible for third-party devs to write code that controls many smart devices – so long as the Chocolate Factory’s code mediates the experience.

Google has a long history of deprecating services and hardware and has already dropped the Dropcam and Dropcam Pro devices from the Nest range and killed off other projects like Reader, Stadia, and Duo. Activists are increasingly unhappy about vendors ending support for devices that still work - and by doing so reducing their functionality – on grounds that consumers buy connected devices in the expectation their functions will remain in place for the working life of the hardware. ®