Software updates are important for all electronics. But for smart home equipment, it's the difference between having a working, cohesive system, and a big collection of useless hunks of plastic. Perhaps aware of some recent high-profile issues along those lines, Google has promised software support for all Nest devices for at least five years after purchase.

The commitment comes in the form of a blog post, which also focuses on security and safety. In addition to five years of bug fixes and patches, Nest Product Manager Ryan Campbell laid out five other prongs for keeping the Nest system safe:

• Independently validated security on Nest devices partnering with the Internet of Secure Things Alliance
• Investment in further security research via the Google vulnerability reward program
• Extra protection for your Google account, including two-step verification and suspicious activity detection
• Verified boot on all Nest devices (sorry, modders)
• Transparency on devices connected to your Google account via the device activity page

Google is indeed all-in on smart home tech with the Home/Assistant platform, and unlike Android, it's in full control of the software and security on Nest devices. So while it's healthy to be skeptical of the continuing support on any device, Google and Nest are in a better position than most to make these assurances. Now if only it could get a handle on those pesky outages...