Josh Hendrickson
In what shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone, Philips Hue will end support for the Works with Nest program on November 17. In some ways, it’s more surprising that it didn’t happen sooner. After all, Google already announced it wants to kill Works with Nest in favor of Google Assistant.
The Works with Nest program allowed Philips Hue smart bulbs to integrate with Nest thermostats and other Nest products for automatic actions. When the Nest Thermostat noticed that left home, it could tell the Philips Hue light bulbs to turn off, saving you energy.
But Google is winding down the program and insisting that developers make the switch to Works with Hey Google. As of yet, Works with Google Assistant doesn’t include all the same features and routines as Works with Nest. It also requires more effort on your part to set up routines.
To that end, Signify (the parent company of Philips Hue) says that while it’s winding down support for Works with Nest, it does plan to integrate Works with Hey Google fully as that program expands. And you can already control the lights from Nest Speakers and displays. You may not get the full automation you’re used to, but you’ll still have some control, at least.
