When Google first announced that it was buying Nest, most of the chatter revolved around how Google’s software would affect Nest’s smart thermostats. However, one overlooked aspect of the deal is how Nest will impact Google, particularly when it comes to hardware design. Unnamed sources tell TechCrunch that Google wants Nest CEO Tony Fadell and his team to take over as Google’s lead hardware designers, a move that could give Google’s products a stronger element of style.
TechCrunch notes that Fadell “used to work for Apple on the iPod and was a founding member of the iPhone development team” and adds that “many people working in hardware consider him one of the best executives that understand both hardware and software — he is comfortable working at the intersection of the two.”
This report is particularly interesting because it comes at a time when Google seems to be easing itself out of the hardware business with its sale of Motorola to Lenovo this week. TechCrunch’s sources, however, insist that Google “is getting serious about consumer hardware, and Motorola was just a false start,” which makes some sense given that Google was mostly interested in Motorola for its patents in the first place.
