Nest’s founding story is pretty much a classic tech legend. A legendary product developer (in this case, Tony Fidell) helps create one of the most successful products of all time (the iPhone) and then rides off into the sunset to enjoy the rest of his life, only to have an experience that brings him back for one last job. For Fadell, that task was trying to rebuild the thermostat. And maybe the way our homes work will change forever.

But This episode of Version date, We tell the story of Nest’s early days. The Verge’s David Pierce, Nilay Patel, and Jennifer Pattison Tuohy talk about Fadell’s outdated, expensive temperature control, and its rapid entry into the product scene.

Nest has been remarkably successful, remarkably quickly, and much of that is due to Fadell himself. The thermostat itself, though, was a bit of a mixed bag. It got a lot of things right—and Nest’s big idea of ​​the future ultimately proved remarkably right—and it also missed the mark in some important ways. It did ship with a hack screwdriver, though.

This is the third episode of the fourth season. Version date. If you haven’t seen the story of the Harmony Remote or Roomba Vacuum yet, make sure you catch up! This season is home smart season, and we are having a great time. Here’s how to catch every episode, and all our other fun stuff, as soon as it drops:

If you want to learn more about the early days of Nest, here are some links to get you started: