Before you judge me too harshly, let me get this out of the way: I don’t ever want my washing machine or dryer connected to an app. I couldn’t care less about checking laundry status on my phone or talking to my appliances just because I can.
And yet, here I am, living in a home with smart speakers scattered across rooms, talking to a voice assistant to get small things done no matter where I am. Somehow, without intending to, I got used to the idea of AI help available around me, even if I were in my room or in the car. And as we move towards a more conversational future with Gemini and Alexa Plus, I’ve started to believe that the future of smart homes isn’t more gadgets but smart intelligence that’s everywhere.
There is something like too much tech
Our phones need to be smart to run dozens of apps and make sense of the sheer amount of information they hold about us. Our smart speakers need to be smart to interact with us and all the connected devices. But do we really need a display on the washing machine, or the ability to talk to a printer?
The moment you slap the “smart” tag on any appliance, it brings along dozens of unnecessary steps and complications — connecting the device to a cloud account, signing into an app, paying for extra storage, managing software updates, and so on.
I wouldn’t mind if, besides doing all of this with the existing simplicity, the toaster could also act as one of the nodes in a larger smart home ecosystem.
Honestly, if I had to do this for every device and appliance I own — from kitchen hoods and microwaves to air-conditioners, washing machines, and refrigerators — I’d go mad. I want my toaster to stay exactly the way it is. I drop in a couple of slices of bread, press a button, and a few minutes later, it pops out golden-brown, crispy toast. That’s it.
Having said that, I wouldn’t mind if, besides doing all of this with the existing simplicity, the toaster could also act as one of the nodes in a larger smart home ecosystem with an omnipresent intelligence. That’s the kind of literal “smart home” I imagine for the future.
What if Gemini is everywhere?
Stephen Schenck / Android Authority
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