Are Smart Appliances Worth Buying Now? An Expert’s Take
Have you ever watched a science fiction movie and found yourself paying more attention to the gizmos and gadgets than the actual plot? You’re not alone. Product designers have gotten tons of inspiration from these visions of the future. But there’s one fixture of the home that has been conspicuously absent: major appliances. When was the last time you saw a movie and thought, “I would kill to have that refrigerator!”?
Not to worry, the engineers at top appliance companies are making up for lost time and are hard at work giving your boring old fridges and ovens a sci-fi makeover.
The first generation of smart appliances, the results of these inspired flights of fancy, is now out on the market. We at Hometown Hero Appliance Repair have begun to see them around Omaha and, luckily for you, we partner with the manufacturers. They have kept us up-to-date with ongoing training and certification in the repair and maintenance of these computer-controlled appliances. In fact, that expertise is why Angie’s List reached out to our own Todd Daganaar, president of Hometown Hero Appliance Repair.
So far, these appliances have been a mixed bag. We do see more repairs on these appliances, but more of these repairs are due to the electronic peripherals—e.g. network connectivity, touchscreen display problems. If you really want less service and better reliability, buy simpler products. If you value features over reliability, buy smart appliances.
Photo courtesy of Samsung
And what features they are! Yes, they’re only first generation—the price tag is high and early bugs need to ironed out—but their features are so cool you’ll easily be willing to overlook these two cons. To discover what’s new in the world of appliances, click over to the Angie’s List article, “Smart Appliances Add Convenience at the Touch of a Button,” featuring Todd’s contributions.
At this point, only buy smart appliances if you have disposable income, can see yourself enjoying the benefits of some really cool features, and want to strongly cast your vote to see more of these appliances in the future. Otherwise, we recommend waiting a year or two for these products to drop in price and mature. Still, we are excited to see what the future holds for these imaginative inventions.
