IFTTT, the Tasker-like automation app that hit iOS first, giving them a tool they’d never had access to before, is getting a new feature. The famous thermostat from Nest Labs, the now-Google company, is being added in the form of features for the IFTTT app and its functionalities.
Since the Nest thermostat and smoke detector had their developer capabilities released yesterday, they now allow integration and access by non-Nest applications. With one of the first apps made compatible with Nest’s developer program being IFTTT, the app allows the user to set up recipes (what IFTTT calls their tasks and connections/plans) that integrate functions, actions, and other features of your Nest thermostat and smoke detector.
Similarly, light bulbs are smart now too. Best example, and also now compatible with IFTTT, is the Philips HUE bulbs. They connect to a modem to be controlled wirelessly by your phone or tablet, to turn the lights on, off, or colors. Which of these is more useful is dependent on you and your needs, but the recipes are universally nifty. You can set the lights to turn off when you leave your home Wi-Fi network, or turn the thermostat off until your flight arrives in your local airport. If you need the some detector to send you a text or notification while you’re not at home, it can do that. IFTTT can be used to set your lights to turn a specific color, like to match the festivities of the World Cup, Google I/O, or your favorite sport’s team, and when the event is over, you can have it transition back to white, yellow, or whichever color you desire to be normal.
IFTTT has been made not into a competitor to Tasker, the ever-popular automation app, but as a companion, to automate not your phone, but your home and life. If you want a taste of either Tasker or IFTTT, go download them to see which works for you. Tasker is a paid app, costing $3, and IFTTT is a free app. Give IFTTT a try to see if you want to make your life and phone easier, so especially if you have a Nest or Hue product, to see what these new connections allow.