Sometimes when it comes to smart devices we should stop asking what we can buy, and start thinking about if we should buy them in the first place. For every high-quality IoT product, there are several cheap unnecessary additions that aren’t worth your time.
Because the world of IoT is a wild west frontier where anything can catch on, companies are keen to turn anything and everything into smart devices. Some are handy, while others are plain useless. Which category do smart coffee makers fall into, and should you get one?
What Is a Smart Coffee Maker?
When you read up on smart coffee makers, you’ll see that they advertise features such as timers and a counter for how many cups are left in the tank. The truth is, however, that many “dumb” coffee makers also have this functionality, so it’s not exclusive to smart ones.
As a result, what you’re paying for when you make the jump to a smart coffee maker is the ability to change these settings from an app. While the functionality is the same, smart coffee makers can be adjusted no matter where you are. Dumb coffee makers require you to be in front of the unit to perform any actions.
One good example of a smart coffee maker is the Smarter Coffee Maker. You can connect to the maker through an app on your phone where you can see the number of cups left within the unit, as well as make a cup of coffee no matter where you are. It can also take orders from Alexa and Google Home voice commands.
Do You Need a Smart Coffee Maker?
Answering this question is very easy, as a smart coffee maker is mostly the same as a regular one anyway. It’s not weighing together two vastly different products; it’s debating whether or not you’d like the additional luxury of a “smart” coffee maker over a regular one.
As such, you need to ask yourself whether the smart functionalities are worth the price tag. Will your morning routine be easier if you can manually activate the maker from your bed? Would you like to turn it on while you’re coming home from work, ready for when you return? Or would you like to command it using only your voice?
If these features don’t sound exciting or useful to you, it’s best to skip out on smart coffee makers. Don’t worry; you can easily find non-smart models with features such as timers. It’s just that you won’t have the additional wireless control, which you don’t really care for anyway.
However, if this sounds like a great idea, then you should find yourself pleased with a smart coffee maker. It’s best to look around and find units that suit the method you want to activate them; either via an app, through a smart home hub, or both!
Time for a Cup
Smart coffee makers are really for one kind of person; someone who wants to be able to turn it on from anywhere, any time. If this sounds like you, then you’ll probably find great use from one!
Would you buy a smart coffee maker? Let us know below.
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