5 Smart Home Devices You Do Not Need

Recent years have seen a massive influx of smart home products that have improved our lives in so many ways. All of these products are released to the market in the hopes they will simplify daily tasks that can now be done more efficiently. But as much as we want to make our lives easier, not every smart home product has a place in the market. Some products just don’t need to change. Let’s take a look at some “smart” products that are better off remaining very dumb.

Smart Water Bottle

The whole idea of a smart water bottle can be summed up by asking yourself if you really need an alert to remind you to hydrate. There is no question that many people don’t drink enough water on a daily basis. However, there is no concrete data on just how much water a person should drink on a daily basis. Do you need to drink while exercising? It can definitely help you achieve better results, not to mention that none of this accounts for the fact that when you eat soup or fruit you are putting water in your body. Paying extra for a bottle to remind you that you need to drink water is completely wasteful. Besides, your body already has a “smart” method of telling you to hydrate: thirst.

Smart Garbage Can

Feel free to move the idea of smart garbage directly into the category of “who thought this was a good idea?” It’s a sleek and attractive product to be certain but unnecessary. The idea here is that before you discard a product, you scan a barcode that adds itself to a shopping list. Creating a grocery shopping list isn’t exactly difficult, and the last thing anyone needs is a product that lives in a garbage can. The company describes itself as “fun to use for the entire family!” If your family’s idea of fun is making grocery lists with a garbage can, it is time to join the real world. That’s not to say there isn’t the spark of a good idea here. Quickly creating a shopping list can be helpful. It just shouldn’t be paired with a garbage can.

Smart Air Freshener

While you may need an air freshener for your house, making it “smart” is really a way too much. They are solving problems that don’t exist. The smart air freshener connects to a smartphone app that enables full customization of scent intensity. The app makes it super simple to switch between multiple fragrances and enable a dispensing schedule. Every single aspect of that doesn’t need to happen. The market is full of inexpensive home air fresheners that push out scents at predetermined intervals and that has worked for decades. Unless there is an epidemic of smelly homes across the nation, just skip this one and spend your money elsewhere.

Smart Toilet

This one is a favorite across the Internet. Let us be perfectly clear from the start that you do not need a smart home toilet. Your toilet does not need Bluetooth. Your toilet needs to just be a toilet. Yes, there are circumstances where something beyond a “traditional” toilet can be helpful. For example, individuals who require additional assistance because of disabilities might need something like a heated seat or nightlights. The problem is that unless you fit into one of these specialized categories, spending upwards of $1000 dollars for toilets is ridiculous. A toilet with a remote control? Toilets only have one function, well, maybe two functions, but neither of those require a remote control. This product is picture-proof that no matter how great the era of IoT is, there are definite limitations.

Smart Pillow

At first glance, the idea of a smart pillow isn’t all that crazy. There are tens of thousands of people out there (probably more) who track their sleep patterns with fitness trackers, so why not this product? First and foremost, a pillow needs to focus on its primary function, enough comfort for a good night’s sleep. Some smart pillows promise to track sleep and stay connected to your smart home for automation. Let us be perfectly honest. There are dozens of products that can stream music and audio in a smart home. You do not need a smart pillow to achieve that. In fact, you should focus on fitness trackers like the FitBit Versa 2 or Apple Watch 5 which admittedly cost more but offer significantly more bang for your buck.

Conclusion

There has never been a shortage of “why was this made” products over the past few decades, and there will be more in the future. That is not to say that something created for a small niche can not or should not exist. However, in the case of this list, there are just far better ways to spend your money. At the end of the day, if you can live without these products, you and your wallet are far better off. What’s the worst smart home product you have ever seen?