Google's Nest retools its signature thermostat

Marco della Cava | USA TODAY

SAN FRANCISCO — Nest's signature connected-home thermostat is getting a redesign that leaves the pioneering Internet of Things product with a slimmer look and higher resolution screen.

The newest Nest Learning Thermostat, the third-generation of the device which debuted in 2011 from ex-Apple engineers Tony Fadell and Matt Rogers, seems particularly attuned to the needs of sight-challenged baby boomers. Its thinner, hockey puck-sized circular face now dedicates 40% more real estate to graphics that are 25% crisper than Nest 2.0.

New features include Farsight, which allows users to set the thermostat to wake up its screen when it senses a presence across the room, as opposed to the standard three-foot distance. Nest can be programmed to display either the target temperature or the time. Another addition is Furnace Heads-Up, which alerts users to any patterns in furnace/air conditioning system overheating.

The $249 device is available Tuesday at Nest.com and Amazon.com, and is coming soon to big box stores such as Best Buy, Lowe's and The Home Depot. The second-generation Nest will drop to $199 at select retailers.

"Millions of Nest homes around the world have saved approximately four billion kilowatt hours of energy compared to what they would have used if they'd left their thermostats at a consistent temperature," says Maxime Veron, Nest's head of hardware product marketing.

The new generation Nest Thermostat will be available at 7,000 retail locations and from 25,000 Nest Pro Installers, as well as energy and enterprise partners that may ofter the smart thermostat at a discount or no cost.

For example, SunEdison will provide the new Nest Thermostat for free to residents in California, New York, and Massachusetts who sign up for a SunEdison Power Purchase Agreement, while Georgia-based Infinite Energy will do the same for residents opting for its fixed-rate two-year plan.

Since introducing the first Nest product, the company has added the Nest Protect smoke and carbon monoxide detector and the Nest Cam security camera to its portfolio, the latter by virtue of its $555 million acquisition of Dropcam last summer.

Search giant Google bought Nest for $3.2 billion in January 2014. Earlier this year, Fadell was charging with taking over the company's Google Glass project, after the wearable computer rollout didn't catch on with mainstream consumers.

Google recently announced it would be creating a new parent company called Alphabet. While no details have yet surfaced about the operational structure of Alphabet's myriad portfolio companies such as Nest and Glass, tech industry observers think the move could bring greater autonomy as well as product speed-to-market.

That would be good news for Nest. The Internet of Things pie promises to be massive, giving the shrinking size and price of its related technology. By 2020, there are expected to be some 25 billion connected devices globally, according to Gartner. Most of those will live either at our offices or in our homes.

Follow USA TODAY technology reporter Marco della Cava on Twitter: @marcodellacava