LG, which sells a smart appliance category called ThinQ, is seeing less than half of its Wi-Fi-compatible appliances actually connect to the internet, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal. Whirlpool is seeing about half of its smart appliance customers connect their machines to Wi-Fi. Both brands have committed a majority of their appliance resources to making and selling smart ranges, dishwashers, refrigerators, microwaves, washing machines, and clothes dryers, so it’s frustrating (for them) to see a relative lack of interest from the customers who already own those machines.
Smart appliances like those from LG and Whirlpool offer a number of convenient features, like refrigerator water filter monitoring, cycle completion notifications, intelligent textile laundering, and energy-saving “vacation modes.” After they’ve been connected to the customer’s home Wi-Fi network, these appliances can receive over-the-air updates that solve user experience issues or introduce new features, like Café Appliances’ new “air fry” mode.
(Image: LG)
All that glitters is not gold, however. From a customer’s perspective, these smart appliances come with as many drawbacks as they do advantages. Amid increasing consumer privacy concerns, some users are understandably worried that their smart appliances are “spying” on them à la LG smart TV or Roomba robot vacuum. (LG even told the Wall Street Journal that smart appliance users cannot opt out of data sharing.) These concerns are validated on such a regular basis that the Mozilla Foundation maintains a “Privacy Not Included” list that keeps track of devices’ built-in privacy oversteps.
Wi-Fi connectivity also creates an opportunity for outside interference. Any smart home appliance or device that connects to the internet can be hacked, prompting our colleagues at PCMag to write up a smart home protection guide last year. Some people even worry that partnerships between appliance manufacturers and government entities could be leveraged to siphon customer data or turn off devices following bill nonpayment. Add to that a Wi-Fi password change or a frustrating app interface, and you’ve got an offline appliance.
LG told the Wall Street Journal that more than 80% of its major home appliances are smart appliances. If other appliance manufacturers follow similar statistics, it could mean that customers aren’t even looking for smart appliances in the first place. Companies that sell smart devices often do so at cost, knowing that the customer data and accessories they’ll sell later will help them turn a real profit. Anecdotally, this is no doubt how the builder of my home chose to install smart home devices throughout the entirety of my development—and true to tale, I’ve never turned those smart features on.
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