Technology - Google News

Google kills the Nest Secure, its $500 home security system - Ars Technica

Posted: 20 Oct 2020 08:40 AM PDT

This is what a Nest Secure looks like. That's a hub/keypad up top, with a key chain presence sensor and two pieces of a "Nest Detect" sensor.
Nest Detect is a combo motion sensor and door monitor.

Google
You can press a button on the Nest Detect to use a door without triggering the alarm.

Google
The Nest Tag would let you tap to disarm.

The Nest Secure is dead. Google confirmed to Android Police that its home security product has been discontinued. Nest Secure has been listed as "no longer available" on the Google Store for about a week now.

The Nest Secure launched in 2017 after a reportedly troubled development period that ended up lasting four years. The product had been changed so many times in development that it earned the informal nickname "Tombstone," which now seems very appropriate. The main unit—called the "Nest Guard"—was a speaker and (an originally secret) microphone with a push-button keypad on top for arming and disarming the security system. It was also a hub for the "Nest Detect" sensors, which would measure motion at a door or window. The final piece of the Nest Secure puzzle was the "Nest Tag," which was a round NFC key fob that would let you arm and disarm the system by tapping it on the hub.

This was all pretty expensive, with the initial starter pack costing $500 for a Guard hub, two Detect sensors, and two Tags. The initial pack would only cover two doors or windows, and from there any other doors and windows you wanted to monitor would be another $60 each, which would quickly add up if you wanted comprehensive coverage. All three of the Nest Secure devices should be on the way out now, with the Google Store listing "no longer available" for the hub and " out of stock" for the sensors. The tags are still for sale, though.

It's really not clear what the future of Google's home security plan is. We don't know of any upcoming replacement hardware, and Google just had its big hardware event for the year. The company signed a $450 million deal with the home monitoring firm ADT in August; the partnership "will combine Nest's award-winning hardware and services, powered by Google's machine-learning technology, with ADT's installation, service and professional monitoring." Hardware like Nest Secure seemed like a big part of that deal, since the combo of a keypad and sensors is the foundation of a home monitoring system like ADT's. Nest Secure users could actually sign up for monitoring from ADT's competition, Brinks Home Security, using the Nest hardware.

It sort of sounds like the ADT deal means Google will have to make a new keypad, hub, and sensor system for ADT to use, but we can't be sure. We tried asking Google about all this a few days ago when we got a tip that the Nest Secure was listed as "no longer available" (thanks, Bill!) but the company wouldn't answer. Included in our email were questions about what the future looks like for existing Nest Secure users, like if they'll ever be able to buy more sensors or replacement sensors for their existing setups (these have been out of stock for a while now) or how much longer the Nest Secure will be supported for. Even if Google doesn't immediately turn off the software support, a system with no replacement parts can only die a slow death.

We've been harping on this for a while now, but Google's continual product shutdowns damage its brand and make it hard to trust the company to be a good steward of new products. This is especially true of products like Nest Secure, Google Stadia, and Nest Audio/Google Home, which require investing money in an ecosystem and functionality that might not be around for as long as you would hope. Nest Secure owners have now invested hundreds of dollars in a closed ecosystem with currently irreplaceable hardware and an unclear software support future.

This is fresh off the company killing the "Works with Nest" hardware ecosystem, resulting in removed or reduced functionality of Nest Thermostats, smoke detectors, and more. The company also blew up the Google Home/Nest Audio music ecosystem when it shut down Google Play Music, leaving users with a worse music product and locking some people out of the service completely. Now, when Google pushes the public to buy games on Google Stadia or invest in whatever this ADT thing is, will anyone trust Google to keep the services running?

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AMD Ryzen 9 5950X & Ryzen 9 5900X “Zen 3” CPU Benchmarks Leak Out, 16 Cores At 5 GHz & Huge Single-Threaded Performance Jump - Wccftech

Posted: 20 Oct 2020 02:57 AM PDT

The latest benchmarks of AMD's upcoming Ryzen 9 5950X and Ryzen 9 5900X "Zen 3" CPUs have leaked out in the Geekbench database (via TUM_APISAK). The Ryzen 9 series processors will feature the highest core count available in the Ryzen 5000 series lineup and will be aimed at the enthusiast gaming market.

AMD Ryzen 9 5950X 16 Core & Ryzen 9 5900X 12 Core CPU Benchmarks Leak Out, Huge Boost In Single-Core Performance

The benchmarks for the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and Ryzen 9 5900X show both chips running at close to 5 GHz frequencies which is pretty impressive for such high core count chips. Both Ryzen 9 chips were running on different platforms. The Ryzen 9 5950X was featured on an ASUS ROG STRIX X570I Gaming motherboard with 16 GB (DDR4-3866) memory while the Ryzen 9 5900X was featured on MSI's X570 GODLIKE motherboard with 16 GB (DDR4-3600) memory.

In Geekbench 5, the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X scored 1575 points in the single-threaded &13,605 points in the multi-threaded tests. The chip was running at clock speeds close to the 5 GHz mark with the maximum reported clock speed hitting 4.983 GHz in the multi-threaded test while the CPU hit 5.01 GHz in the single-core test.

The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X scored 1605 points in the single-threaded &12,869 points in the multi-threaded tests. Once again, the chip was boosting beyond its rated boost clocks with the highest core clock reported at 4.947 GHz in the multi-threaded and 4.95 GHz in the single-threaded test.

When it comes to performance comparison, the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X is around 20% faster than the AMD Ryzen 9 3950X in the single-threaded and around 10% faster in multi-threaded tests. AMD's Ryzen 9 5900X is also around 20-25% faster in single-core but only around 6-8% faster on average in multi-core tests compared to its predecessor, the Ryzen 9 3900X.

Compared to Intel's flagship Core i9-10900K CPU, the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X offers a 15-20% single-core performance bump and around a 15% performance bump in multi-threaded tests.

AMD Ryzen 9 5950X "Zen 3" Desktop CPU - 16 Cores / 32 Threads Up To 4.9 GHz For $799 US

Starting off with the top of the line parts, AMD is announcing the Ryzen 9 series which is made up of the Ryzen 9 5950X. The Ryzen 9 5950X is the flagship 16 core part which is aimed at users demanding heavy multi-threading performance on AM4 sockets.

The chip has a total cache of 72 MB and a TDP of 105W. The chip features a boost clock of up to 4.9 GHz boost which when put together is just stunning for a 16 core part. The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X is going to cost $799 US and will be available on the 5th of November like the rest of the lineup.

AMD Ryzen 9 5900X "Zen 3" Desktop CPU - 12 Cores / 24 Threads Up To 4.8 GHz For $549 US

Next up, we have the Ryzen 9 5900X which is a 12 core part that is aimed at users demanding heavy multi-threading performance on AM4 sockets. The chip has a total cache of 70 MB and a TDP of 105W. The chip features a base clock of 3.7 GHz and a boost clock of up to 4.8 GHz boost which is faster than the Ryzen 9 3900XT. The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X will feature a retail price of $549 US which is $50 US higher than the MSRP of the Ryzen 9 3900XT while delivering significantly faster performance.

In performance comparisons, the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X completely obliterates the Intel Core i9-10900K, delivering insane amounts of up to 15% single-threaded performance jump over the competing chip within Cinebench R20. The same goes for gaming performance where the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X delivers up to 21% performance gains over the Core i9-10900K.

AMD Ryzen 5000 Series "Vermeer" CPU Lineup

CPU Name	Cores/Threads	Base Clock	Boost Clock	Cache (L2+L3)	PCIe Lanes (Gen 4 CPU+PCH)	TDP	Price
AMD Ryzen 9 5950X	16/32	3.4 GHz	4.9 GHz	72 MB	TBA	105W	$799 US
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X	12/24	3.7 GHz	4.8 GHz	70 MB	TBA	105W	$549 US
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X	8/16	3.8 GHz	4.7 GHz	36 MB	TBA	105W	$449 US
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X	6/12	3.7 GHz	4.6 GHz	35 MB	TBA	65W	$299 US
AMD Ryzen 5 5600	6/12	TBA	TBA	32 MB	TBA	65W	$219 US?

The AMD Ryzen 5000 Desktop CPUs, codenamed Vermeer, will be launching on the 5th of November. The launch lineup will include the 16 core Ryzen 9 5950X, the 12 core Ryzen 9 5900X, the 8 core Ryzen 7 5800X, and the 6 core Ryzen 5 5600X. You can learn more about these SKUs here.

All 500 series motherboards (X570/B550) will be receiving BIOS updates to support the next-gen lineup so if you're planning to get a Ryzen 5000 CPU at launch, you better head over to this link and grab one that's supported for your motherboard (do note that 400-series support comes later around January 2021).

Which AMD Ryzen 5000 Desktop CPU are you most excited about?

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