First Alert’s new smart smoke alarm is a Nest Protect replacement

Life safety manufacturer First Alert launched a new line of smart smoke and carbon monoxide alarms this week that will work with Google Home. Following Google’s decision to discontinue its Nest Protect smart smoke alarm, the company has announced it’s partnering with First Alert on the First Alert Smart Smoke & Carbon Monoxide (CO) Alarm.

The new alarms will work with the First Alert and Google Home apps but not with any other smart home platforms. They will also be compatible with existing Nest Protect alarms.

Ryan Park, senior product director at Resideo, which owns First Alert, told The Verge that they interconnect over Nest’s Weave communication protocol (which uses Thread) to sound all compatible alarms when one is triggered. The notification system can also include any non-connected First Alert alarms you might have installed.

The new First Alert Smart Smoke & CO Alarms will cost $129.99 and will be available in hardwired or battery-powered options later this year in the US and Canada. They’re available now for preorder at FirstAlert.com.

Nest Protect alarms work for 10 years from the date of manufacture. They first launched in 2013, so many homeowners (myself included) may need to replace theirs soon. Park says they were designed for easy hardware replacement so that Nest Protect users “can seamlessly replace their devices.”

The new First Alert alarms have several of the same features found on the Nest Protect. These include automatic safety checkups, a “Heads-up Early Warning” that sends voice and app alerts before an alarm triggers, alerts when an alarm is triggered, and the ability to silence alarms from both the First Alert and Google Home apps.

The lineup features a hardwired and a battery-powered option, both with backup batteries. The app will send you low battery warnings, so you shouldn’t get those 2AM low battery chirps.

Unlike the Protect, the First Alert alarms won’t work as a presence sensor for Google Home’s Home & Away function or feature the Protect’s neat nightlight feature. And while they resemble the Nest Protect, they sadly don’t have the same stylish design. However, Google says they can trigger a live feed from your Nest security cameras in the Home app when an alarm sounds.

The new alarms use First Alert’s Precision Detection — an advanced sensing technology that uses photoelectric sensing. They work over Wi-Fi to connect to the Google Home and First Alert apps. Existing Nest Protects will soon appear in the Google Home app.

The new Google Home-compatible alarm comes hot on the heels of competitor Kidde’s launch of a smart smoke alarm that works with Ring at CES this year. The Kidde Smart Smoke Alarm with Ring ($54.97) and the Kidde Smart Smoke and CO Alarm with Ring ($74.97) are hardwired alarms with battery backup and will launch this April at The Home Depot. These connect exclusively to the Ring app via Wi-Fi.

First Alert has an existing line of Onelink smoke and CO alarms with Wi-Fi connectivity. However, it phased out its models that worked with Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, and Google Home a while ago.

Park says the current Onelink product line will be discontinued over time in favor of the new models. The company also manufactures a Z-Wave smoke and CO alarm that works with Ring Alarm and other platforms, which will continue to be sold.

It’s great to see more smart smoke alarm options; it’s a space that really hasn’t seen a viable competitor to the Nest Protect in the US market. However, this proprietary approach is frustrating, especially now that Matter is here, which is designed to make it easier for manufacturers to integrate with multiple smart home platforms.

Smoke alarms are part of the Matter spec, but none of the recently announced models are compatible with the new smart home standard. Resideo, owner of First Alert, is part of the Connectivity Standards Alliance that oversees Matter. The company recently released a smart thermostat that works with Matter. I’ve asked if there is a plan to make the new smoke alarm compatible.

Correction, March 28th: An earlier version of this article misstated the First Alert alarm’s sensing technology. It uses just photoelectric sensing, not a combination of ionization and photoelectric.