Apple has dropped the Nest smart thermostat from its product offerings, pointing to stepped up competition in the market for smart-home products.

Greentech Media reports the Nest is not compatible with Apple’s HomeKit platform and has been permanently removed from the company’s online and bricks-and-mortar stores. Other Nest products, including its smoke alarm, will continue to be offered.

What will work on HomeKit is the ecobee 3, which promotes itself as the “smarter Wi-Fi thermostat” and, like the Nest, retails for $249.

Both the ecobee 3 and the Nest are part of a new generation of web-connected devices that give people the ability to control or monitor heating, cooling, lights, and other home fixtures remotely with a smart phone or tablet.

Smart thermostats are often an entry into the Internet of Things, an area that’s expected to grow sharply in the years ahead. In 2014, Greentech Media said, more than one-third of all households with a broadband connection said they were planning to buy a smart-home device, according to a market survey, and smart thermostats will account for more than half of all thermostat sales by next year.

So Apple’s move away from Nest could mean a real boost for its competitors. Greentech Media reported Alarm.com, one of the largest providers of smart home products, went public earlier this year so it could compete more readily with Apple, Nest and others.

Apple didn’t much to say about the Nest decision, but Nest called Apple a “valued partner,” adding, “our new products will be available through Apple in the coming weeks.”

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