alt Hacker NewsWhen buying fridge, washing machine, oven etc, when I moved, I told the sales person, I like quality, am not price sensitive, but any device that requires an app or has a camera/mic built in is out of question. Some didn't know how to handle that, being used to sell it as a "good thing".
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XFinity (Comcast) recently sent my parents a new router, and AFAICT there was no way to configure it from a LAN computer.
It required a damn proprietary phone app, which I assume was bouncing commands through the internet.
> I like quality, am not price sensitive but any device that requires an app or has a camera/mic built in is out of question
You probably meant "I want no frills product because of its simplicity, not because its cheap" but when that feedback reaches a PM, they'll only hear "I will pay more to not have a camera or a mic".
I said that about cars on here and got called all kinds of an idiot for not wanting electrically-operated door handles, an always-on phone connection, and screens bigger than the telly in my living room.
The home appliance market is a scam fractal. It goes deeper than just ewaste.
Nobody wants to admit it, but they are more home decor and geewhiz BS than practical appliance for several decades now. You'll be perfectly fine buying cheap barebones models if you are repair savvy. Choosing colors and materials like black or white and stainless steel is "boring", but only if the surrounding space is already ugly.
I've had the same no name amazon special washer and dryer for almost 15 years now. Reviews were 3/5 stars at the time. People complained about belts slipping and hinges breaking. I just fixed them with parts on ebay. They still look and run like new.
I paid £50 more for a washing machine without wifi/app.
I have an HP wifi printer, 5820 I think. I haven't signed in to HP, haven't connected the printer to cloud.
Same for anything else. I don't see the whole "oh you need firmware update to improve the product". 90% of the time it just works.
So what happens if the fridge isn't given internet access ? Or washing machine?
fridge, washing machine, oven etc, [...] Some didn't know how to handle that
I am surprised, all the European brands like Miele, Siemens, Bosch, etc. household appliances work fine without an app. Most that we have now do have an option to connect to WiFi, we never connected them and they all work fine with good old buttons like it's 1985.