Google Killed Revolv Smart Home Hub to Acquire Talent, Leaving Customers in the Dark
The Revolv smart home hub was a product released in 2013 by Revolv, a company that changed its name from Mobiplug. The device could control multiple smart devices and run your home effectively. It used seven radios to work via Wi-Fi and Z-Wave protocols. To boost sales, Revolv partnered with The Home Depot.
In 2014, Google acquired Nest Labs, which had already released the Nest Learning Thermostat in 2011. After the acquisition, Google merged Nest Labs with its own operations to form Google Nest. Google decided it was more interested in the engineering talent behind Revolv than the device itself.
Google shut down support for the Revolv smart home hub two years later, on May 15, 2016. The device relied heavily on cloud computing and the Internet of Things, making it useless without server support. This move sparked outrage among customers who had invested in the $300 device.