Rule of thumb: Keep yourself as smart as possible but your items as dumb as possible.
A lot of people are still surprised when they hear that I work in the tech industry, but don't have - and recommend against - "smart"[1] devices in my house. The majority of my appliances are simple and robust without any computers or electronics, have lasted several decades, and will likely continue functioning for many more.
[1] With the exception of a single smartphone which is rooted, not constantly within arms' reach, and kept off most of the time.
I have adopted the same strategy and have had very good luck with it.
"TV" is an industrial/commercial display (NEC P461). Microwave is a commercial panasonic (NE-12523). Coffemaker is a Technivorm Moccamaster.
In addition to being "dumb" these devices are very well built, are repairable, and last forever.
Well yes - Light switches made in 1900 will probably still work today, but you obviously don't have the features of IoT like toggling it from across the house or turning on multiple light [switches] at once. There's always a trade-off and people seem to want to pay for the convenience, even if it means replacing it in as short as 5-10 years.
If I get a smart toaster, such as the Revolution Cooking Smart Toaster, then I'll get a bunch of nifty features: touchscreen controls, notifications on my phone when the slice is toasted, etc. It'll be nice and a lot of fun for a while. Initial experience is great. A year passes. The touchscreen fades. The wi-fi chip doesn't work with my new router. The notifications app doesn't work with my phone's OS upgrades. I'm jealous of the cool new model at my friend's house. I'll be shopping again in the near future.
Instead, I could get a complicated dumb toaster, such as the Panasonic FlashXpress. It's got a ton of buttons that all do different things. Every morning for the next three weeks is going to be an experiment; I'll need to learn the ins-and-outs. Eventually, I can play it like a musical instrument. From there, I'll be able to use it until it dies, probably ten-plus years. The toaster will not be something I think about, really, at all. It's just a tool that sits there and does the job well.
So here's the question. Do you prefer the immediate conveniences of using the latest and greatest, next year be damned? Or do you prefer the long-term convenience of not ever having to think about it?
Result: toast goodness.
I don't need a toaster like this one:
I've never felt the need for more than that, I don't even use the frozen button.
That being said, I there’s still plenty of room for smart appliances that are fault tolerant and degrade gracefully. I agree that most “smart” things on the market today fail to implement either of these features particularly well, but I see no fundamental reason why they couldn’t.
The strategy of purchasing long-lasting, simpler devices? Cost saving over the long term and independence.
The purpose of technology is to enhance and improve human interaction. When technology is perfect it is invisible. These smart devices are in a sense anti-technology, they're gadgets that occupy people's time and attention and get in the way.
The only product in the last decade that actually in my opinion is smart is the Kindle (or equivalent ereaders). It's like having a thousand books I can carry around with the weight of one, it lasts forever, I don't need a light to read, and otherwise I can forget that it is technology and actually just read books.
I'm struggling to think of any new tech product from this decade that's really improved general life. I'm not that cynical, there's gotta be something. Maybe modern dashcams?
I mostly agree with the article's premise, but I would add an exception for when you automate the solution yourself.
You personally no longer need to solve the problem, but in the process of automation you'll have to learn more about the problem then you are likely to learn just through solving it manually.