Light at the end of the tunnel: disappearing up my own arse:

[ToughButterCup]

I love to loathe tech stuff. So this article from The Atlantic magazine hit home with me.

 

The text below is ChatGPT's summary edited and reformatted by me for easier readability.

 

“Smart Homes Are Terrible” by Jason Fried argues that the current wave of smart-home technology often makes everyday tasks more difficult rather than easier. The author, a tech industry veteran, recounts his experience staying in a high-tech rental home full of connected devices and automated systems that, in practice:

 

Require multiple apps, tutorials, or menus just to do simple things like turn on lights or set the temperature.

 

Have poorly designed interfaces (e.g., unlabeled panels or touchscreen controls that aren’t intuitive).

 

Create friction, lag, and confusion instead of convenience.

 

Make basic actions harder than with traditional analog controls (like flipping a switch or turning a dial).

Ultimately, he suggests that smart homes have become too complicated and unreliable — and that simple analog solutions often work better. 

🏠 Examples from the Article

Lighting panels needed tutorials just to operate.

 

Television and kitchen appliances were complicated by app requirements and obscure interfaces.

 

Thermostats and security systems involved navigating deep menus rather than straightforward controls.

 

A digital lock on the gate didn’t work properly, forcing use of a traditional key instead. 

🧩 Broader Context (Not Just The Atlantic)

To balance the article’s criticism, here’s how smart homes are generally viewed in technology and industry trends:

 

📈 Adoption and Trends

Many homeowners expect smart technology to become essential by 2030, driven by convenience, energy efficiency, and integration. 

 

The smart-home market continues to grow with devices like smart thermostats, speakers, and security systems becoming more common. 

🔧 What Smart Homes Can Do Well

Remote control of devices via apps or assistants like Alexa/Google. 

Automated routines (e.g., adjusting heating based on presence). 

Potential energy savings by optimizing usage. 

 

 

Security and privacy vulnerabilities if devices aren’t configured securely. 

Interoperability issues between different brands and systems (though standards like Matter are helping). 

 

The Atlantic Magazine February 2026

[JohnMo]

Yep

A 21st century essential, just like thermostats were in the 20th and still are to many - that isn't essential and doesn't add value.

 

It's all needless tatt. I do have home assistant, but use it as a simple go to place to see stuff, never found control over the long term reliable.  If it stopped working, I wouldn't replace it. 

 

[ToughButterCup]

I'm desperate to read @Pocster's take on this. I get the feeling he's a TechnoKing

[MrSniff]

We have “smartened” (is that a word, I feel it should be) our houses, mostly for security as we spend time away - lights, shutters etc - and central control does also bring some convenience, but we have kept physical switches for everything as well for simplicity of use. We don’t use smart speakers as I don’t quite trust them, only Homekit as the hub which keeps it local as opposed to cloud based.

[Onoff]

55 minutes ago, ToughButterCup said:

I get the feeling he's a TechnoKing

 

Well it ends in "ing"...