Google rolled out lots of new hardware at its event late last month, but apparently the company isn't done introducing new devices quite yet.
Google is reportedly planning to launch a new Nest Thermostat in the coming weeks. Bloomberg says that the new Nest Thermostat will cost $129, which is considerably cheaper than the $249 flagship thermostat and the $169 Nest Thermostat E (shown above).
This new thermostat will achieve the lower price by using a body that's made of plastic rather than metal like the high-end Nest Thermostat.
Today's report also claims that Google will replace some of the touch controls of existing Nest Thermostat with a system that'll use hand gestures, similar to the Soli-based Motion Sense gestures used on the Pixel 4. It's expected that you'll be able to do things like swipe your hand up or down to control the temperature or move your hand toward or away to navigate menus.
We've seen Google placing a focus on lower-priced devices lately. The Pixel 5 starts at $699, a couple hundred dollars less than last year's Pixel 4 flagship, and it's also got the Pixel 4a that starts at $349. The new Nest Audio smart speaker is also $30 cheaper than the Google Home it replaces.
This rumored Nest Thermostat looks to continue that trend of new, lower-cost Google devices. It could be a good way to get new folks into the Nest ecosystem.
It'll be interesting to see how well the gestures of the new Nest Thermostat perform. When the Pixel 4 launched, reviewers said that the Motion Sense gestures could be a bit hit or miss, but Google has now had a year to improve things.