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Joule longevity

Alec_Perkins_240930

What is the expected useful lifespan of the Joule, especially given inevitable changes in iOS software and Bluetooth? How long does ChefSteps plan to keep the app up-to-date and compatible with iOS? What happens if phone hardware stops supporting the same Bluetooth specification? The implosion of Nest has me concerned about the longevity of an expensive device that cannot be used on its own.

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michaelnatkin

Hi Alec - Great questions. The Bluetooth spec occasionally gets additions but we don't expect it to ever lose backward compatibility - that would break millions of devices, not just Joule. We will always keep the app working and compatible. We also plan to provide an open API for Joule so that other developers can create additional apps to control it.

AngelArs_240456

Hi Alec, what happened with Nest doesn’t apply to Joule. In order to understand why, a little history about Nest is needed. Several years ago google bought Nest. At the time everyone thought that this was a good thing, because extra money could be funneled into development for the product, but this is not what happened.

The issue with home automation is that there are many, many companies coming out with different products, products that of course all support different standards. Naturally none of these products really play well with each other, and every company is touting that their product is the best. So now you have a home automation product ‘soup’ composed of many different standards, with no way to tie them all together. Then a company named Revolv came along.

They had a cool hub that ‘translated’ the many different standards, so that you could control many different companies products through one simple hub. As you might understand this was a shot in the arm for home automation, and now if you owned a product from Nest, Sonos, Phillips, Belkin, Honeywell, Trane, Kwikset, and/or Yale then this one simple hub would allow you to control them all. Think of Revolv as being the orchestra conductor, and all of your other home automation devices as being the instruments in that orchestra. Revolv was truly a step in the right direction, but google felt threatened by them, so google (who bought Nest) bought Revolv, and killed the Revolv product. For many people this move by Google now opens up a lot of concerns about other Google hardware.

After killing the promise of the Revolv hub, Revolv’s new google boss told the good people at Revolv that they were being reassigned to work on the Nest product, and when the public learned what happened to Revolv, distrust for google (and Nest) grew. Google then also killed HomeKit support in Nest products. People started to see a trend in what google was doing and stopped buying Nest products, after all, no one wants a home automation product that is not compatible with any other product on the market. Then earlier this month a Nest engineer posted that because of the way that google was running Nest, that Nest itself was on deathwatch; http://www.loopinsight.com/2016/04/05/reddit-post-from-claimed-nest-engineer-says-company-on-a-deathwatch This kind of implosion will never happen with Joule because ChefSteps is not owned by another company, and because ChefSteps has always been interested in one thing - building the very best Sous Vide circulator on the market, bar none.

The materials ChefSteps uses are not just good, but are top notch. Their software is designed with common sense and ease of use in mind, while at the same time being extremely powerful in the background. They have an open API for other developers to support the product, and ChefSteps has a long history of supporting and putting their customers first. Realistically, all indications are that Joule is built and supported so well, that you can plan on your Joule becoming a valued family heirloom.

Alec_Perkins_240930

“We will always keep the app working and compatible.”

But what happens when you stop? ChefSteps has only been around a few years. There are several apps I no longer can use because the companies behind them folded or moved on and just stopped updating the apps to be compatible with the latest iOS versions. And my experience with Android suggests it’s even more complicated to keep apps compatible with the possible devices and versions. I guess my question is: what’s the expected useful lifespan of this $300 device?

bkeene12

Yikes, thanks for the Nest explanation. Another thing to note, you can no longer use an iOS device to view a public NestCam... which really sucks when you were using the cam as a promotional tool.

bkeene12

Even if Chefsteps were absorbed by say a maniacal Chris Kimball, there would be no reason to discontinue support for it- sous vide has been a cornerstone of what the site has to offer. I think you investment risk is minimal at best.

AngelArs_240456

Nest was a promising company before google bought them. Sad to hear that nestcam no longer supports iOS. What were they thinking?