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Smart devices are turning out to be a poor investment (www.androidpolice.com)

submitted 7 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 25 points 7 months ago (3 children)

Normally I'm a pretty earlier adopter of new technology but home automation doesn't appeal to me because I don't want to have to constantly pay a subscription to someone to process my commands when I have a perfectly functional computer.

I want to have a doorbell that does not financially commit me to a monthly fee I do not think that's too much to ask.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 7 months ago

There's plenty of products without subscriptions... Including your doorbell example.

Maybe you haven't actually researched this enough?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

For me, a doorbell that is more than a doorbell is a perfect example of tech built to fill a need no one had.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

To be fair, I use a simple smartlock whose only purpose is so I alone can unlock my bedroom door without needing my physical key duplicated for others to enter at desired times.

To also be fair, I have a hodgepodge of smarthome lights and plugs linked via ifttt that I am now worried will not have any replacement option in 15 years. Maybe I made a mistake, but I do actually have a need to rely on a smartswitch to turn off the lights when I leave home.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago

Agreed, but there are choices. Even for the Ring doorbell, you can choose not to have a subscription if it suits your bpberds to have live video only, no history. But there are also full featured choices that do not require a subscription.

For me, I haven’t yet upgraded from Ring because I’m not ready to take on an NVR, nor build out the full system I want