Google’s new Nest Learning Thermostat can automatically freshen up your home when it’s beautiful outside

Summary

• Google’s new Nest Learning Thermostat offers eco-conscious climate control and a sleek modern design with a glass display.
• The 4th-Gen Nest Learning Thermostat adjusts based on household routines and includes clever features like Smart Ventilation.
• At nearly $300, the thermostat lacks some expected features like an air quality sensor and touch screen, but offers advanced HVAC monitoring.

Google is finally entering its next era of smart thermostats, nearly a decade after the tech giant gave us the last generation of the Nest Learning Thermostat. According to a Google announcement this morning, the fourth and latest version of Nest’s habit-learning thermostat is here, bringing with it a compelling shortlist of features.

Among the most major changes, we’re getting a new form of eco-conscious climate control and a fresh new visual with an all-glass display and subtle bezel. The new thermostat is slimmer, with a larger display and an overall modernized feel.

A couple perks that some users could’ve hoped to see look to be absent, though, including a built-in air quality sensor and a touch screen. That nearly-$300 price tag is no easy pill to swallow, either.

A more sophisticated approach to climate control

Shaving cash off your annual energy bill and encouraging a greener, more energy-efficient home have been major goals of Google’s smart thermostats since their fruition. The brand even offers a program that encourages your household to keep its energy consumption limited to times when your energy utility is producing the cleanest (or, ideally, renewable) energy.

In a new feature Google calls “Smart Ventilation,” the 4th-Gen Nest Learning Thermostat reportedly stays in tune with outdoor conditions in order to better control your home’s environment. For example, with a supported HVAC system on a mild and sunny spring day with high air quality conditions, the thermostat pumps in fresh air from the outdoors. This encourages maximum efficiency under prime conditions, but will automatically shut off when the air quality takes a plunge or when temperatures are extremely hot or cold.

Further, the new thermostat will automatically adjust your household’s temperature to whatever is most efficient with outdoor conditions and your ideal temperature taken into account. Then, when your Google Assistant detects that you’re approaching home, the thermostat will switch gears again, bringing the home back to your preferred temperature within an hour of your arrival.

More to explore: HVAC monitoring, sensor support, and customizable farsight displays

Google’s latest thermostat has a lot to offer, both in maximizing efficiency and maintaining comfort. The 4th-gen nest Learning Thermostat can:

• Detect subtle warning signs of something amiss in your HVAC system, keeping you ahead of potentially expensive repairs.
• Support a network of up to 6 Google Nest Temperature Sensors throughout your home, and set unique schedules for each sensor to be active.
• Customize the thermostat’s farsight displays to show different information at different distances. For example, on a cloudy day, the thermostat will show simple clouds on its LCD screen while you’re across the room. Then as you approach, the display changes to show more detailed information, like time and temperature.

Google’s latest (and most expensive) thermostat price, availability, launch date

While the new Nest Learning Thermostat was just announced this morning, eager shoppers have another couple of weeks to wait before it’ll be on their doorsteps. Preorders are now open for the 4th-Gen Nest Learning Thermostat, which Google lists for $280 USD. The thermostat will officially be available starting on August 20, sold through the Google Store.