I’ll just have to schedule my emergencies, then 
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That’s what I said last year, but then Google went into lock down and stopped catching up with Alexa…
No worries, you can soon use Google Duplex to have the Assistant call the Fire Department for you …
Google Assistant also does really strange things like turning on/off lights that I don’t want to control in rooms or guessing what lights I want to turn on/off instead of letting me choose.
For example If I ask GA to turn on the lights in the kitchen then GA turns on every light that has kitchen in the name whereas when I ask Alexa the same thing it will only control the 6 lights I have in the “Kitchen”.
It also seems to include more lights in rooms than I have defined… in my master bedroom for example if I ask the GA to turn on the lights it turns on the light strip behind the TV even though that light isn’t in the same room in the Home App.
Its trying to think for me and I can’t figure out how to tell it that it’s doing things wrong.
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That’s easy, start your phrase with Alexa… instead of Ok, Google 
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Looks like Google is going to still expose some kind of API for Alexa to still work with Nest products, since they just updated their Nest/Alexa FAQ: https://nest.com/support/article/Nest-and-Amazon-Alexa
“Note : There is currently no change to your device functionality with Alexa. We are in discussion with Amazon to update their Alexa skill to continue working with Nest products that is in alignment with our privacy commitments prior to winding down the Works with Nest program in August.”
If not, and I lose the ability to control my Nest Thermostats from Alexa or SmartThings, I’m going to get both my thermostats refunded on the grounds of a bait-and-switch. I imagine I won’t be the only one.
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I have Ring cams on the way to replace my Nest cams. Google royally screwed how they handled the switch over and they’ve been working at it for a year. You would expect a young company to stumble like this not a well established leader. It shows poor management no matter what the outcome of this will be.
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Unfortunately, their terms of service include what is now a fairly standard clause for IOT services:
Modification. Nest reserves the right, at any time, to modify, suspend or discontinue the Services or any part thereof with or without notice. You agree that Nest will not be liable to you or to any third party for any modification, suspension or discontinuance of the Services or any part thereof.
You agreed to that when you signed up for an account with them even if you didn’t read the fine print. So there’s no bait and switch case you can bring.
BTW, SmartThings has a nearly identical clause:
Will SmartThings ever change the Services?
.
We’re always trying to improve the Services, so they may change over time. We may suspend or discontinue any part of the Services, or we may introduce new features or impose limits on certain features or restrict access to parts or all of the Services. In some cases, the changes we make to the Services may cause older hardware devices, third party services, software configurations or setups to no longer work with the Services, and you may be required to upgrade or change these devices, services, configurations or setups in order to continue using the Services. We’ll try to give you notice when we make a material change to the Services that would adversely affect you, but this isn’t always practical.
I know most people don’t read the fine print, but I recommend that you do. It can save a lot of aggravation later. 
(BTW, I don’t have any evidence for this, but my personal belief is that the reason that so many tech companies now have a similar clause is so that they can be acquired or merged without the new owners having any obligations beyond the usual hardware warranties. )
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I would encourage everyone to reach out. Be cordial, these folks don’t have any decision making power but this is a terrible decision.
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I agree with this belief.
There have been dozens of examples over the past few years of hardware products with add-on services that have plainly shutdown, been acquired and continued, or been acquired and killed.
Some of these were quite unpredictable, I think: e.g., Pebble
(and Halo, and, of course, Iris, and …).
There is no such thing as “lifetime service”, unless you are just describing the lifetime of the product and/or company. Always read the Terms of Service (or just assume they disclaim as many warranties as possible).
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The bottom line is minimize your exposure to Cloud-based home automation devices. You are reliant on the continued support from the device developer and their acquiring companies. Zigbee, Z-wave and UPNP devices solve this. There are also some devices that have local wifi control with published APIs. If you must obtain cloud-controlled devices, go with major suppliers who do not have delusions of controlling the world.
Perhaps we should push for legislation requiring Home Automation devices have published APIs and do not rely on the Cloud for execution (but can use the cloud). Example is the older TP-Link plugs, switches, and bulbs.
The fact that it was mentioned as a SDK made me assume that it could be used by others. This is in reference to the communications between the Google home speakers and Wi-Fi devices like light bulbs, not assistant running local on a phone.
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You cannot regulate the stupid or mismanagement. For that, there is a different way to safeguard against. Consumer boycott. If you don’t like their practice, there is an old saying for that " fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can’t get fooled again" 
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The part about this that sucks the most for me, is that I’ll no longer be able to make super-long timelapses. :\ I’ve done some really neat ones using their API by taking a snapshot every minute over weeks, including the neighbors house being built and a retaining wall being installed in my back yard. With Nest’s built in timelapse I can’t easily tell it to skip nighttime or weekends, and making timelapses that are longer than a week is effectively impossible without copy/pasting together a lot of them.
Also, with local snapshots, I don’t have to worry about putting the timelapse together before the video is erased from the cloud.
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Take this Google!
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According to Verge…
Some popular Works with Nest integrations that will break on August 31st, 2019 or earlier:
- Amazon Alexa will not be able to adjust the Nest Thermostat or display Nest Cam feeds
- Logitech Harmony remotes won’t be able to change Nest alarm and home / away modes
- Philips Hue lights will not be able to change color when Nest Protect detects smoke or carbon monoxide, nor will they be able to change state when Nest Cam detects movement
- Lutron lights will not turn on when the Nest thermostat or Nest Cam detects people
- August Home will not be able to set the Nest Thermostat to home or away when locks are opened or closed
- SimpliSafe will not be able to directly set the Nest Thermostat to home or away
- Wemo switches will not be able to change state when Nest is set to home or away
++
(* Abode will not be able to receive smoke alarms from Nest Protect, change the location to home or away, or take pictures from Nest cameras in the event of a security alert.)
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Accurate! 
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ToS isn’t always upheld. You can’t put anything in a ToS if it violates existing laws or consumer protection standards. “By signing up for a Nest a account, you hereby agree to not sue us if we secretly record you naked and blackmail you”.
ToS isn’t above the law. On their box and promotional material it says that it works with Alexa. I don’t care about your ToS. You can’t turn a feature off and not violate consumer protection laws. If not, then are they allowed to just stop the “detects smoke” feature of my Protect? Silly.
I’m going to get a refund, even if it’s at the hands of Best Buy. They can deal with the manufacturer on their own. This is not the first I’ve done this.
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Like others have suggested, I recommend reaching out to Nest to make sure your concerns are heard:
George M: Hi. Thanks for contacting Nest Live Chat. My name is George. I’m here to help.
Me: Hi George. I heard that the Nest Thermostats will be losing their API. Is this true? I’m fairly concerned as this is the reason I bought them.
George M: Hi, Michael. I will be glad to help you with the information.
George M: Yes, the “Works with Nest” integration will not work. However, we would like to inform you that, managing and controlling Google Home, Nest, and thousands of third-party smart home devices is done through the Google Home app and the Google Assistant after migration.
George M: Also, while we don’t have anything to announce today, we are exploring ways for our customers to continue to use APIs with your Nest products after account migration and when the works with Nest service shuts down.
Me: But the API allowed me to turn the heat on or off based off of various temperature and light sensors in my condo. For example, if it’s very sunny outside, the heat goes off and the blinds go up.
Me: This is a bit worrisome. Is there going to be a refund channel?
Me: A way of can get my money back given that the product has been hindered after I bought it?
George M: I understand the inconvenience, Michael. But we do not want our customers to be worried about migration to Google account as this still works with a Google assistant.
Me: I just read your previous reply
Me: Hopefully the API can remain
Me: I guess I’ll stay tuned for updates.
Me: I just hope Nest realizes this will make many people angry
George M: Yes, we are not ready to completely stop the API as this effects our smart control features of nest products.
Me: If features can be removed after the fact, they how do I know my Protect will still detect CO2 later on?
Me: Anyway, just giving some feedback
Me: Thanks for the chat. I’ll stay tuned for updates.
George M: Sure, there are more updates to come in and please be rest assured you will not be disappointed by the migration as this will lead to more intuitive control over your devices.
George M: Thank you for your valuable feedback. Do you have any further questions for me today?
Me: No. Thanks George.
Ultimately, it sounds like a “wait and see” scenario. I believe that they will allow API access in some form (whether via Assistant or special partners or something else) that will satisfy some percentage of the community. I wouldn’t start replacing existing Nest hardware just yet. But if I was buying new hardware, I’d probably shy away from Nest products for now.