Revolv is Dead. Thanks for Your Money.

We all knew this day was coming. From the day Revolv announced that they would stop new development of the Revolv smarthome platform, we saw the writing on the wall. Nest’s acquisition of Revolv was widely believed to be a knowledge-worker acquihire, and the long-term prospects for the team’s original platform weren’t good.

Today it’s official. Revolv will shutter its services on May 15, 2016—roughly 90 days from now. At that point, your Revolv system will stop working, and your Revolv hub will become a paperweight. Your $299 investment in the then-best option for pulling together multiple ecosystems’ devices under one easy-to-use umbrella will be a sunk cost. A write-off. Maybe…a lesson learned?

But what is the lesson? Don’t support early, innovative startups? Beware of companies purchased by other companies with parent companies who purport to value not being evil yet have a history of shuttering one beloved acquisition after another? Whatever it is, this final move by Revolv will certainly bruise some early adopters. The Revolv (/Nest) announcement is cold and unapologetic. It offers no comfort for those consumers who helped make Revolv’s platform successful, attractive to Nest, and arguably even possible. It offers no compensation or incentive to even consider Nest or Works with Nest products. In fact, it leaves them with something of a stink.

Thanks for the memories. And for the $299.

Update, 4/6/2016: In early April, the popular tech press actually noticed Nest’s plans for Revolv and started reporting this as if it was new news. Fanned by the anti-Nest rhetoric, outlets have been pressing Nest about this, and Nest has responded with a statement indicating that they’re addressing Revolv owners’ concerns on an individual basis, including possible compensation. If you’re a Revolv owner, reach out to Nest at help@revolv.com.