Most pointless domestic appliance phone apps?

[Raymond Lin]

@Raymond Lin too, just get a Universal/Harmony remote. When I first bought my amp I looked into ARC but by all accounts it's ropey, not reliable and just causes headaches. Just Google it and you'll see loads of problems.

I have my Harmony Ultimate w/ hub set up. One touch for TV (Sky), one touch for Apple TV (Netflix/Prime/ATV+/etc.), one touch for music, one touch for BluRay. Easy. And integrates with my Google Home so I can be walking downstairs and ask Google to turn on any of those things so it's ready for me by the time I get there to collapse on the sofa. Right amp input, right volume etc. All set. Also quite satisfying asking Google to turn everything off when going to bed

I have that too, despite the fact that it is on the the 3rd remote (Logitech replaced it twice), I used it for ages. Pretty much until I got an OLED about a year ago where I had ARC. Then slowly I just used it less and less, now got back to old school and do most of the stuff on the Amazon Fire Remote. The majority of what I watch is on the Firestick anyway from BBC iPlayer to Netflix, BT Sport to YouTube and Disney +. It controls the volume on the amp. It auto switch when I pick up a controller to turn on the console too.


One of the reason I had it was that I had Philips Hue LED strip placed behind the TV and the Boot Up Sequence I programmed also turned on that light. My OLED has built in light behind the TV which means I didn’t need that either.


So I don’t miss the Harmony Remote at all, plus I am also running 2 less pieces of electronics (the remote hug and the Philips LED strip).

 

[Semple]

I wonder how much extra energy the Internet-of-Things will require

Most IoT devices are built around the esp8266/32 chips which are incredibly low powered. Consuming less power than brightly lit LED bulb.

 

[413x]

I can make do without a standard API, it's more when these companies don't make the API public, which means you're relying on them staying in business for your appliance to work. The big push in smart homes is to be able to use/control all of the devices if you were disconnected from the internet for example.



You don't sound like a big tech fanatic



Every one of them has their uses. The vision for smart homes is also about being greener, efficient, and cost-effective, not just about automating every part of your life. When we all get dumped on electricity tariffs that charge you a dynamic rate by the hour depending on demand (think Octopus Agile), having a connected home where things like washing machines, dishwashers, tumble dryers, vacuums, etc (basically any appliance that costs a significant amount to run) and having the smart home decide when to run the appliance based on energy unit costs.

Yes you've still got to load the dishwasher manually, or load the washing machine manually.

Unless tariffs allow this the smart function won't help.
It would only be useful if energy prices changed hourly

 

[newuser]

Here's another, Wifi enabled cat flap with phone app...

 

[kinobestew123]

Consuming less power than brightly lit LED bulb.

So about the same as a dimly lit LED bulb?

 

[kinobestew123]

This is actually a very good feature if it is reliable.

Seems to work flawlessly. The fridge does make a high pitched beep too but sometimes if we're upstairs we can't hear it.

 

[FlyingFish]

I'm in the heating trade, and it's great that finally things have been dragged into the modern age, with smart boilers and smart controls.

But this is too much, you can now get a sludge filter that comes with WiFi and an app to give you recommendations. Really?
Never seen one fitted, tho we have fitted hundreds of the standard 'dumb' type, with plenty of satisfied customers.

 

[tom_nieto]

@Raymond Lin too, just get a Universal/Harmony remote. When I first bought my amp I looked into ARC but by all accounts it's ropey, not reliable and just causes headaches. Just Google it and you'll see loads of problems.

I have my Harmony Ultimate w/ hub set up. One touch for TV (Sky), one touch for Apple TV (Netflix/Prime/ATV+/etc.), one touch for music, one touch for BluRay. Easy. And integrates with my Google Home so I can be walking downstairs and ask Google to turn on any of those things so it's ready for me by the time I get there to collapse on the sofa. Right amp input, right volume etc. All set. Also quite satisfying asking Google to turn everything off when going to bed

It’s a shame that Logitech are discontinuing these products. I’ve got a similar setup and Alexa can turn everything on and off.

It has the added advantage of baffling guests so that only I can select what we’re watching!

To answer the question about pointless connected appliances, our new dishwasher is WiFi enabled. Can’t really see the point - how many custom programmes do you need when the dishwasher seems to calculate the time and temperature on its own on auto mode? No point in being able to turn it on remotely as you need to actually load dishes into it.

 

[arknor]

But this is too much, you can now get a sludge filter that comes with WiFi and an app to give you recommendations. Really?
Never seen one fitted, tho we have fitted hundreds of the standard 'dumb' type, with plenty of satisfied customers.

surely you'd know it needs unblocking from the litres/hour reading on your heating/hotwater display anyway?

it's just a gimmick everything has to have now days

wifi toilet seat please so I know if I forgot to put it down or not