Have we, dare I say it… gone too far?
Smart tech is everywhere these days. With a WiFi connection, you can regulate and automate almost every process in your house – including some you didn't even know you needed. While being able to control your lights, thermostat, and home security with the ease of technology is a sign of progress, the smart home craze might have gone a little overboard. Sure, you'll find useful, novel products with innovative features – like Mysa – but you'll also find things that are completely absurd and make you question reality (as if we didn’t already).
Remember, just because a product has a smart chip in it doesn't make it a smart buy. But it might help you with a problem you never knew you had, or at least get you some laughs along the way.
1. That's Right, A Smart Toaster.
Did the world even need a smart toaster? I'm not here to answer that question. I’m not here to answer any questions. I’m here to show you silly stuff. I'll just say that the Griffin Connected Toaster exists, and if you feel passionate about the amount of control you have over your toast crispiness level, you may want to look into it. It's Bluetooth compatible and will notify your phone when the toast is just right. It's also $100. That's right – a $100 smart toaster.
2. Smart Dreams are Made of This.
A smart pillow might sound like a step too far, but the ZEEQ smart pillow actually seems to be quite useful. It has non intrusive alerts to stir you when you're snoring, built in speakers for late night listening, and an array of sensors to help you monitor your sleep. It also has Alexa and IFTTT integrations, so it fits right in your existing smart home setup. Running a relatively steep $200, some of the diagnostic features might actually justify the price for those with sleep issues. The name is also really silly. What does it mean, ZEEQ?! What does it mean?
3. Brushy, Brushy, Brushy!
Cosmetics giant L'Oreal has introduced the Kerastase Hair Coach – the supposed evolution of the common hairbrush. With a microphone, tilt, and pressure sensors, it scours the internet to find local environmental data and weather patterns to compile an overall score for your hair health. So if you're looking to needlessly and carelessly replace everything you own with a smart device, $200 will help you refine your brushing method.
4. Robots are here, and they're kind of terrifying.
When you think of robots you might think of happy, humanoid computer friends. Like C3PO. Or Wall-E. Or maybe your mind goes straight to the dark side with the Terminator and the other dangerous robots of the techno-apocalyptic future. But the real robots? The Home and Pet Surveillance Robot is basically designed to look like its a sentient segway from your worst nightmare. It's a 2 wheeled wireless camera and screen that allows you to keep close watch over your pets – as long as they don't run away in fear. And for $999, you might be running away too.
5. Porkfolio might just be the best name for a product, ever.
…And it's also a cute little way to teach your kids how to save money. A smart piggy bank that connects to your smartphone and keeps track of goals. Kids these days are growing up as tech natives, so starting them on good financial habits isn't a bad idea. It's also a very affordable $20, so it's a good investment to teach good investing!
These things may be weird. They may seem silly. We're sure to see even more household items become bitten by the smart bug, and not all of them will necessarily make sense. Who knows what's next. But one thing's for sure: smart homes are here to stay.