Call me old but I simply don’t buy home appliances with internet connection or companion app.
It was foreseeable that they will drop support after a few years to “force” users to buy new thermostats. No surprise here.
If one needs something reliable that is not depending on any cloud crap from Google or other advertising companies, openHAB is the most free and open solution (but also likely takes the most effort to initially integrate).
I mean, no company is going to support a product indefinitely. The first nests are 11 years old.
They don’t need to offer support, (technical) access to the device is enough. Those devices could be used locally without issues.
They do neither.
It’s not surprising to me but there’s is a way beyond infinite support.
The devices can still be controlled locally, just run homeassistant (which everyone should be doing).
While these are 14 year old models, it’d be really cool if companies at least got in the habit of designation at least one device as being LTS
That way consumers can choose if they want latest and greatest (but with a limited lifespan) or an LTS model that will last forever (but maybe has less fancy features and is much simpler, but functional)
If Google put out a Nest LTS that was lower MSRP, had very little features, and was very minimalist, but had a 30 year LTS gaurentee, I’d buy it.