Google Nest Learning Thermostat (4th Gen) Review: Beauty and intelligence come together

Nest Smart Thermostat The Nest Learning Thermostat has been a smart home icon since it hit the market in late 2011. There’s nothing smarter than a device that can learn your habits and help your home run more efficiently without you having to mess around with settings or automations. In the 13 years since then, the Nest Learning Thermostat is easily identifiable by the same thick silver bezel and compact circular screen. The design was revolutionary at a time when most smart thermostats looked like boring rectangular beige boxes.

Google’s fourth-generation Nest Learning Thermostat has an all-new look that transforms what looks like a basic tech gadget into something that feels like a work of art for your wall. It also comes with new smart features, including a temperature sensor that you can place in other places in your home. It’s a refreshed upgrade to a longtime staple, and it feels smart without being intrusive or overly complicated — an important middle ground that not all smart devices manage to strike.

Slim setup

If you’re thinking of attaching your 4th generation Nest Learning Thermostat to the back of an older Nest thermostat, unfortunately you can’t. The new model’s thermostat base is a different size, so you’ll need to swap out the old base for the new one.

The third-generation thermostat itself is smaller, but the base is a bit larger, and the connector is larger. Meanwhile, the new thermostat has a smaller base and a much smaller connector button. You’d expect the base to be larger because of the larger 3.9-inch screen, but it takes up less space on the wall, which is a good thing. Like the previous generation, it comes with an optional plate, but the new version is oval instead of rectangular. The 3.9-inch screen may not sound that big, but if you’re used to smaller Nest thermostats, or previous thermostats like the square Honeywell T6, it looks surprisingly large when mounted on a wall.

Installing your Nest is easy. Just make sure your system is compatible and that you’ve turned off the power by turning off any associated breakers. The Nest app is no longer available for this model. Google is gradually moving more features and capabilities to the Google Home app, which this new model uses. Google Home will walk you through removing your old thermostat, labeling the wiring, and installing your new thermostat over it.