Nest, the home automation company that designs and manufactures sensor-driven, Wi-Fi-enabled, self-learning, programmable thermostats and smoke detectors, is making a move into home audio.
A recruitment add appeared on the Nest website, seeking a "highly technical Head of Audio to lead the development of Nest Audio across hardware and software, present and future".
Whoever gets the job, will have to "lead the Nest Audio team, including acoustics, audio electronics, audio software, audio test and validation for all Nest Products, build a world class audio team through hiring and mentoring and develop an audio roadmap for Nest products, including hardware and software, that can support delightful user experiences and innovative features".
The founder and CEO of Nest is Tony Fadell -- a man very familiar with the music industry. He is the former Apple executive behind the iPod (he was also nicknamed "The father of the iPod").
The media speculate on what the software part of the work will include. While some believe it might mean the development of a brand new streaming service, others think it will more likely mean the creation of a music controlling app, considering that Google has two: Google Play All Access and YouTube Music Key.
Nest was bought by Google for $3.2 billion back in January 2014.
The Guardian says Sonos will most likely to be the main rival to Nest: "That company is expected to record $1 billion in sales of its connected audio hardware in 2015, and recently raised $130 million of funding to continue growing. Google’s deep pockets could make Nest a formidable competitor".
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