The ongoing battle between Google and Amazon has just taken another turn, after the online retail giant announced it wouldn't stock future products from Nest. As a result of the move, Nest has decided not to sell any more of its items on the site once the current inventory is depleted.
Business Insider reports that a conference call between the two companies' employees saw Amazon's team inform Nest it wouldn't be listing any of its newer products, such as the latest thermostat and Nest Cam IQ. Amazon said the decision had nothing to do with the quality of Nest's products, which have excellent customer reviews, but "came from the top." It appears that this was a reference to CEO Jeff Bezos, but the Amazon staff never explicitly mentioned the company boss.
A person familiar with the matter said that in response, Nest decided to take an "all or nothing" approach and stop selling its products on Amazon once current stocks run out. It's unclear if third-party Amazon sellers will still be able to move Nest goods.
Google acquired Nest Labs for $3.2 billion back in 2014. Nest became its own company following the massive reorganization efforts that saw the creation of holding firm Alphabet a year later, but it was reabsorbed back into Google last month. Google hardware SVP Rick Osterloh said the move would "create a more thoughtful home." It would also help Nest better compete against the likes of Amazon and Apple.
Amazon, of course, has smart home ambitions of its own, as proved by the $1 billion acquisition of doorbell maker Ring last month, as well as the purchase of home security provider Blink in December. It also competes with Google in the smart voice assistant market with Alexa, which is found in the Echo and other devices.
The latest move isn't all that surprising. Amazon doesn't sell other Google hardware like its Home speaker or Pixel smartphones, though the handsets are available through third-party sellers. Tensions between the companies boiled over last year when Google stopped Amazon's Echo Show and Fire TV from accessing YouTube over claims the company was violating its terms of service.
It looked as if things were improving in December when Amazon said it would allow Chromecasts to be sold on its store for the first time since 2015, but three months later and there's still no sign of them. You can still find and buy a Nest Thermostat or Nest Security Camera on Amazon but possibly not for long. With the latest revelations, it seems Amazon and Google's relationship is at an all-time low.