Amazon and Google have been at odds and as the feud is escalating, Amazon will stop selling Nest products on its website.
As a reminder, Google acquired Nest back in 2014 and is now merging its own hardware team with Nest's for deeper integration. As Amazon and Google race to dominate the smart home space, competition is heating up and the two are waging war against each other.
No Nest Products On Amazon
Amazon currently sells a number of Nest products on its e-commerce website, but that will change soon. According to a new report from Business Insider, the retail team at Amazon recently informed Nest that it will no longer be listing newer Nest products such as the Nest Secure home security system released in late 2017, or the new Nest thermostats.
Amazon's retail team reportedly did not specify who gave the order to skip newer Nest products, but did mention that it "came from the top" and had nothing to do with the quality of the Nest products sold on Amazon. This could mean that the decision came from Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos himself, or from someone else high up in the management chain, and it's most likely related to Nest's new owner.
All Or Nothing
In response, now Google-owned Nest reportedly decided to leave Amazon altogether. This means that even the few Nest products listed on Amazon will not be available in the future.
Business Insider notes that it was an awkward conversation with Amazon's retail team, but Nest was expecting it. Consequently, once Amazon's current inventory of Nest products sells out, that will be it. Nest wanted to offer its entire portfolio on the e-commerce platform, so it seems like it was all or nothing. If it can't sell its latest product on Amazon, it's pulling all of its portfolio.
It remains unclear at this point whether this decision also means that third-party retailers can't sell Nest products on the Amazon marketplace either. Engadget reached out to Amazon to inquire about this, but a company representative said they don't have an official statement on this matter yet.
Amazon - Google War
For those unfamiliar with the whole situation, Amazon first opened fire against Google when it removed Chromecast from its website because it did not support Amazon Prime Video. Google retaliated by preventing Amazon Fire TV and Echo Show devices from accessing YouTube, citing a "lack of reciprocity." Google explained at that point that it tried to reason with Amazon so they'd both give consumers access to each other's products and services.
Not being able to access YouTube videos likely dealt a heavy blow to the Fire TV and Echo Show's appeal, so Amazon eventually reconsidered. Back in December 2017, Amazon announced that it will start selling Chromecast devices again, indicating that the two companies might finally patch things up. If Business Insider's new report turns out to be accurate, however, the dispute is escalating rather than dying down.
