I don't see why Google can't simply charge a nominal fee for extended support of older Nest thermostats. This is something their competitor Oracle does with all the software products that they purchased. Unlike a phone or a speaker, these expensive devices are wired and screwed into homes. They really don't need any software updates; they just need to continue to be connected via the app. I do like your idea that at least they could let the open source community and owners support older devices. Otherwise it is a waste of a perfectly well-working electronic device, that certainly was not cheap to buy nor install. I suspect that there may be some legal reason whereby they would have to negotiate and pay some kind of license money to the original designers of these Nest products that Google is now dropping? Maybe something was written into the sale of Nest to Google whereby they were only allowed to support these devices for a limited time while Google made new products of their own? Perhaps so the original Nest product designers were legally allowed to create something new at that time just like Pebble watch creators recently did long after Pebble was sold to FitBit and FitBit to Google? Because what corporation would not want to make easy money off countless captive customers that have their products screwed onto their homes? I wish Google would be more honest about their reasons for doing this to their Nest customers, because I regret recommending them to my parents and relatives who are all in the same boat now so to speak, me with egg on my face for ever having trusted Nest and Google.
