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jimicus t1_j5zisw6 wrote

Reply to comment by EzeakioDarmey in Appliance makers sad that 50% of customers won’t connect smart appliances by HushedShadow

I don't even think it was "hacked by their coffee maker" concerns.

I suspect it's far more likely that a substantial number of people are buying smart appliances yet they neither know nor care that their appliance has this feature and it sits unconnected and unloved. They just thought it looked nice.

It's the modern equivalent of the VCR clock flashing 00:00 99% of the time. Yes, you can do additional things by setting it up, but most of those additional things are entirely useless most of the time, so why go to the hassle of doing so?

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EzeakioDarmey t1_j5zjirv wrote

Considering smart devices tend to more expensive than their dumb equivalent, someone buying would ideally be buying them for the enhanced features.

For example; if I bought a smart fridge with internal cameras so I could see I needed milk while I was out, I'd probably be using that feature frequently.

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celestiaequestria t1_j5zn5t4 wrote

The smart features are a honeypot to get the user to connect the device to WiFi so it can transmit usage and other data. The problem is that the features you get for connecting to WiFi are often meaningless or gimmicks - because the real reason for the antenna being included was always data collection and transmission.

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thedm96 t1_j60tw26 wrote

Bingo! My fridge connects to the cloud to check a database of filter serial numbers to make sure i don't use a counterfeit one and if I do it shuts off the freaking water!

Companies are salivating over turning your life into a subscription model.

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Thunderhorse74 t1_j60xts3 wrote

WTF? When did HP start making refrigerators?!?

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thedm96 t1_j61i8ws wrote

You can thank GE for that one. Vote with your dollars!

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zerostar83 t1_j63busc wrote

I have a smart washer and dryer set. Tried and gave up on trying to connect to it with the app. The instructions were confusing to say the least. They even seemed to switch back from referencing wifi and Bluetooth as if they're the same thing. I would like to set the "custom" knob setting so I'm not pushing buttons 5 times to set it to "normal" wash but with a slower spin and warm instead of hot water, but I don't want to spend another hour having an app tell me it's failing to connect.

Also, my Bluetooth toothbrush seems gimmicky. Got it on sale but do I really need those metrics?

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Alaishana t1_j65e9f3 wrote

I can see where that would handy, if you never ever never wanted to open that damn fridge door.

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