14 ‘Smart’ Appliances That Aren’t Worth the Hype
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Smart appliances are smart devices that are connected to the internet and sensors in your home. You can control these devices via WiFi, apps, and smart devices. So, you could control a smart coffee maker, smart oven, and even a smart toilet based on your inputs, sensors, autonomous sensor data collection, and even voice commands.
Is it worth the hype and exorbitant costs involved? Here are 14 smart appliances and reasons why they are worth the hype or your dollars.
1. Smart Toilet
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A smart toilet is a class of smart appliances designed to be eco-friendly, energy efficient, and add a touch of luxury to the restroom. Most smart toilets are self-cleaning and come with night lights and seat warmers. Other models come with bidets with self-adjusting spray pressure. High-end smart toilets even gauge how much water is used per flush and will send you a notice by app or autonomously regulate water usage as needed.
Sounds great huh? A smart toilet could start at $600 and surge to $6.600 or more depending on the features. They use a lot of energy, which is another added expense. They are complicated machines, so every time they break down you may need to call a specialist plumber to fix it. Lastly, you may need to memorize an owner’s manual to correctly use your toilet.
2. Smart Thermostat
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Smart appliances like smart thermostats can be designed to accommodate the temperature requests of everyone in the home. Some useful smart thermostats will use your inputs and sensors to autonomously heat your home as efficiently as possible to save you as much money as possible.
They study your living patterns and adjust temperatures according to which rooms experience the most activity via sensors. You can also install sensors in multiple rooms and allow multiple people to control the temperature in their rooms, which negates the usefulness of the device. Some models cost as much as $250.
3. Smart Air Conditioner
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Smart air conditioners are another class of smart appliances that you can control via an app. You can control the air conditioner’s functions via an app or program its start and shut-off times. Some smart air conditioners utilize sensors that detect the ambient temperature and then operate at the most efficient and energy-saving setting. While useful, these smart devices are expensive. The more affordable models start at $330 and it may take a long time before they pay for themselves since hot weather is now the norm.
4. Smart Pressure Cooker
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The golden rule of pressure cooking is to use pressure cookers correctly and leave them alone as they cook. The goal of using a pressure cooker is to remove yourself from the process as much as possible. So, what is the point of a smart pressure cooker?
Smart pressure cookers are voice-controlled, WiFi-enabled, and can be controlled via an app, Google Assistant, or Alexa. It seems like an expensive way to overcomplicate a simple cooking device and insert yourself digitally into the process while doing nothing when it was designed for self-cooking. Some models cost as much as $300.
5. Smart Oven
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Smart ovens have interactive screens, voice control, apps, and sensors that allow the oven to cook autonomously with enough pre-inputs. Smart ovens will sync cooking times with recipes, turn themselves off before food burns, or even switch off if they sense you have left the house. It’s an expensive investment to just develop codependent cooking habits with smart appliances, but if you have obscene amounts of money to burn, go for it. If you order delivery most days out of the week, then it’s a waste of money. A smart oven can cost anywhere between $150 to $1,300.
6. Smart Coffee Maker
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Smart appliances like smart coffee makers and espresso machines are designed to make automated coffee brewing look more impressive than it actually is. These smart devices can be voice-activated or programmed to start. You can input the favorite brewing profiles of each person in the household too.
This might be a worthwhile investment if you use it often and religiously brew coffee at home. If you’re the typical American who happily spends $5 per cup at corporate coffee houses, then you’re wasting your money and time.Some models ranges in price from $75 to $800.
7. Robot Vacuum Cleaners
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Depending on your weight, height, and intensity of activity, you can burn 105 calories every half-hour through sustained house cleaning. It is also mentally stimulating to engage in physical housework; while it won’t cure depression or serious emotional issues, it will keep your mind engaged. Cleaner surroundings will also make you feel better.
Spending $150 to $1,100 on a Roomba or similar cleaning smart appliances is a complete waste of money. They are virtually useless if you live in a cluttered household that would block most movements of the device. Admit you want to pay to see the hockey puck-shaped robot scoot around or just grab a broom already.
8. Smart Dishwasher
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This might be the only worthwhile smart device that you should buy on this list of smart appliances. The typical household wastes 320 gallons of water annually by inefficiently using their dishwashers. Smart dishwashers autonomously use the needed amount of water and electricity per cycle based on the load. If you really want to burn some money, like $2,300, you can buy smart dishwashers controlled by voice or smart device apps.
9. Voice-Activated Air Fryer
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Air fryers are now a modern and ubiquitously popular part of the modern kitchen. They’re enclosed ovens that use heated air to cook food quickly and relatively more healthily than traditional cooking methods. No one would deny you an air fryer. Do you really need a voice-activated air fryer? A typical air fryer costs anywhere between $50 to $200. Some smart air fryers can cost as much as $350. Do you really want to spend hundreds on an air fryer that turns on at the sound of your voice?
10. Smart Toaster
Smart toasters are smart appliances that can autonomously cook toast to predetermined preferences. A smart toaster can cook toast quickly without burning it based on the kind of bread you use, ambient temperatures, and other settings. After a few uses the appliance will remember your preferences and never burn toast again. Some smart toasters have a touchscreen and can cost $300 or more. This is a complete waste of money unless you eat toast multiple times daily.
11. Voice Controlled Microwave
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One accepted hazard of using a microwave is that food sometimes gets overcooked or burned if you use the wrong cooking setting. Smart appliances like voice-controlled microwaves allow you to cook and deactivate it with your voice. This just seems like an expensive way to find legitimate reasons to talk to your microwave. It would be a lot cheaper to just pay more attention when you’re cooking. Do you really want to pay $600 for a WiFi-enabled microwave you can talk to?
12. Smart Refrigerators With Interface Touchscreens
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Smart refrigerators are smart appliances with interactive touchscreens, apps, and interior cameras. A smart refrigerator can display a recipe on its screen as you cook. You can use one to keep track of soon-to-spoil food items. A smart refrigerator can also autonomously develop grocery lists based on preferences and as supplies diminish.
Some of the better-reviewed models cost $5,600. Instead of overpaying for your fridge, it might be cheaper to just inventory as needed and stick with a writing pad or dry-erase whiteboard on the door.
13. Smart Lights
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Smart lights are devices that use voice activation or programming to modulate the intensity or brightness of lighting according to your preferences. Smart light senses can autonomously adjust ambient lighting when you turn on a movie to watch, go to sleep, or turn off automatically in empty rooms. Honestly, it might be cheaper to get “The Clapper “and just turn off your lights via clapping once or twice. Some models range between $20 to $80.
14. Smart Washer and Dryer
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The only aspect of this smart device is the ability to autonomously regulate the right amount of water to use per washing cycle. However, many traditional washing machines already have such eco-friendly and water-conserving features. The major selling points of smart appliances like this are that they are voice-activated, remote-controlled via apps, autonomously send texts or emails when a load is finished, and customize the exact amount of detergent needed per washing cycle.
Unless you want to brag about how much you’re paying for your washing machine and dryer, then skip it. Some models cost as much as $2,800.
Smart Appliances
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You should only spend money on smart appliances if you plan to actually use them, not use them for a few weeks of bragging rights. You should also be aware that the manufacturers of these smart appliances may be secretly collecting activity data every time you use their devices.
Additionally, the more connected your smart appliances and home are to the internet, sensors, apps, and smart devices, the more vulnerable you become to data theft, hacking, and cyber invasion of privacy. Think about the practicality of owning such devices before you burn money buying them.
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Allen Francis is a full-time writer, prolific comic book investor and author of The Casual’s Guide: Why You Should Get Into Comic Book Investing. Allen holds a BA degree from Marymount Manhattan College. Before becoming a writer Allen was an academic advisor, librarian, and college adjunct for many years. Allen is an advocate of best personal financial practices including saving and investing in your own small business.
