Should I buy a smart white goods appliance?

More and more white goods appliances are being made with so-called smart capabilities. They can connect to the Internet, and come with specialised apps that claim to add useful functions and features. There’s always a possibility that sooner or later all white goods appliances will have the ability to connect to the Internet. I’m not convinced that this is a good thing. A smart appliance will cost more, so is it worth paying extra for one?

What are the main concerns over smart appliances?

There are several concerns. Firstly there is security, it’s well documented that many smart products have been insecure and easily hacked into. If that happens, someone could gain access to your entire network.

Then there is support for the apps and software. It’s well documented that many smart features that come with new products are only supported for a few years before being abandoned. For example, the BBC iPlayer app on my TV recording box suddenly stopped working after a few years. When I looked into it, I discovered that it was no longer supported.

I’m prompted to write this article after buying a new dishwasher, and discovering it was a, “smart” appliance that can connect to the internet through an app on my phone. I had no intention of buying a smart appliance, but I obviously missed that feature, which wasn’t prominently promoted. My first experience of reviewing a smart feature on a white goods appliance was with an LG smart feature and to be honest I was quite sceptical about it. However, this was in 2011 believe it or not. It’s remarkable that smart features have been around for so long.

Who do the smart features benefit the most?

My issue with the Smart features, was that most of the benefits appear to go to the manufacturer. Having apps integrated with white goods appliances gives manufacturers an opportunity to gain a lot of data about how they are used. The main advantages should be to the users. Clearly these apps are likely to develop and improve, but it is difficult to think of many genuinely useful features for us the user.

For example, the LG smart diagnosis app reported all the error codes and messages generated by the appliance. This sounds great, but apart from the few basic errors that all washing machine manuals describe in detail, all the errors generated just directed customers to contact the manufacturer. This was completely unhelpful, and basically just directed people to their repair services.

Useful smart features

One very useful smart feature, that I predicted long before smart appliances came out, is the ability for the washing machine or tumble dryer to send a message to your phone when the cycle has finished. I didn’t so much predict it, it was more of a wish. I presume this feature is now available. Although most people certainly wouldn’t need it, our washing machine and tumble dryer are in our garage. Therefore, it is genuinely useful to be notified when they are finished.

Are there any useful smart features that you like or wish for?

Please add a comment to this article if you have a white goods appliance that has a smart app, and you find it either useful, or conversely useless.