Revolv, the home appliance company, has announced that it will be officially it closes next month. Alphabet’s Nest Labs bought Revolv back in 2014 and the duo had been working on developing the Works with Nest platform ever since. After the acquisition, Revolv products continued to work as expected, but today’s shutdown means the hub or app will no longer work after May 15.
After its acquisition in 2014, Revolv said it would no longer sell the products, but would continue to support its existing customers. Revolv posted a brief announcement and a four-question FAQ on its site announcing the full shutdown in May:
A letter from the founders of Revolv:
We are closing Revolv.
Revolv was a great first step into the connected home. It wasn’t perfect, but we worked hard to make something that we – and other smart people – could build on.
And it worked. In 2014, we were acquired by Nest and the technology we developed became an integral part of the Works with Nest platform. Now Works with Nest turns out to be more secure, more useful and better than anything Revolv has created.
So we pour all our energy into Works with Nest and have a wonderful time doing it. Unfortunately, that means we can no longer allocate resources to Revolv and have to shut down the service. As of May 15, 2016, your Revolv hub and app will no longer work.
Thank you for your support and belief in us. We’re saddened by the end of Revolv, but this isn’t the end of the connected home. This is the beginning.
– Tim & Mike
This shutdown seems more expansive than just not offering products or services, but the words in the FAQ section make it sound like the hub itself will no longer be operational. at all.
As of May 15, 2016, the Revolv service will no longer be available. The Revolv app won’t open and the hub won’t work.
Arlo Gilbert, CEO of Televero, chats on Medium how this unexpected shutdown will affect the rest of his home automation system in the coming weeks.
On May 15, my house will stop working. My neighborhood lighting will stop turning on and off, my security lights will stop responding to motion, and my home burglar alarm will stop working. This is a deliberate decision by Google/Nest.
– Arlo Gilbert
Most disturbing of all in this situation is that users who purchased the products do not seem to be receiving emails about the closure. Unless a user will monitor Revolv’s site or social media, they may find themselves in the dark by mid-May. Revolv hasn’t added any other options for customers, likely leaving many with default home settings that won’t work when the deadline comes.
Nest appears to have had a tough few weeks as the former Dropcam co-founder talks about how ex-Apple Tony Fadell managed the company and where Nest really stands among Alphabet’s bet profits. Re/code also reported that Nest has been underperforming and that its current future looks uncertain. Amidst all this uncertainty, Nest is also losing key employees such as its director of hardware design and engineering, and its chief engineering officer has reportedly left the company.
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