If you haven't heard the news already, Google is putting an end to its "Works with Nest" initiative, and many smart home users who rely on this popular thermostat and supporting devices have been fretting ever since, wondering what it means for the device's long-term interoperability with connected and automated home control systems.

In response, Control has released the following statement, ensuring its users that Nest Thermostat and Nest Protect will still be supported going forward.

Read on for details directly from Control4:

Control4 Corporation (NASDAQ: CTRL), a leading global provider of smart home solutions, is advising customers the company will embrace "Works with Google Assistant" and is developing new Nest drivers in cooperation with Google's Certification standards.

As announced at the Google IO developer conference, Google will shut down the "Works With Nest" program on August 31, 2019. This program will be replaced by the new "Works with Google Assistant" program. The change will require updates to all Control4 Systems that currently include Nest devices, including Nest Thermostat and Nest Protect. Customers can learn more about these changes on the Nest website.

"Fostering a large ecosystem of support for third-party devices is an important feature of Control4 and something we are deeply committed to," said Control4 Sr Vice President, Products & Services, Charlie Kindel. "In the same way that we were an early adopter of the "Works with Nest" program, Control4 intends to embrace this new program to continue to offer customers choice and flexibility for the smart products in a Control4 Smart Home."

Customers don't need to do anything at this time, however:

• • Beginning June 25, 2019, new Nest devices cannot be added to Control4 projects using the current drivers developed with "Works with Nest".
  • On August 31, 2019 all "Works with Nest" integrations will shut down.

Control4 is currently working on a new Nest driver through the "Works with Google Assistant" program with the intention to make it available before the shutdown of the "Works with Nest," however this is dependent on receiving Google certification. Control4 is advising users to wait to make any changes to their "Works with Nest" or Google accounts until after the new driver has been installed. Users can contact their Control4 Dealer for assistance with the installation of the new driver when it becomes available.

Control4 will announce details as soon as they are available. www.control4.com