c/gadget-reviews

Heard a guy at the coffee shop say his smartwatch battery only lasts a day now

I was grabbing coffee yesterday and the guy next to me was complaining to his friend. He said his smartwatch, which is about 2 years old, needs a charge every single day now, not every 3 days like when it was new. It made me think about how we review gadgets when they're fresh out of the box, but not how they hold up. My own fitness tracker started having similar issues after 18 months. It's a big factor in whether something is actually worth the money. Has anyone else had a gadget's battery life drop off a cliff after a couple years?

My $80 'smart' water bottle just told me to drink more... by email

I bought it thinking the hydration reminders would help, but the app barely works and it's just a heavy bottle with a dead battery now. Has anyone found a simple tracker that actually works without all the tech junk?

I think the new smart fridge at the Best Buy in Springfield is a bad idea

I went to check out the new smart fridge at the Best Buy on Main Street last weekend. Everyone online says the screen and the apps are great, but I stood there for 10 minutes trying to figure out how to just change the temperature. You have to go through three menus on a touchscreen that kept lagging. My old fridge has two simple dials. What happens if that screen breaks in 5 years? The repair guy told me it would cost at least $400 to fix just the display panel. It feels like they added a tablet to a fridge and called it an upgrade, but it just makes a simple thing hard. Has anyone else bought one of these and actually found the smart features useful every day?

Pro tip: My $250 smart scale finally made me stop ignoring the data

After six months of it quietly tracking trends in an app, I actually started adjusting my habits based on the weekly reports (not just the daily number). Anyone else have a gadget that slowly won them over like that?

My new smartwatch bricked itself during a 5k run in the park

I was about two miles into my usual loop at Riverside Park last Tuesday when my watch just... died. Not a low battery warning, just a blank screen. I'd only had the thing for three weeks. I finished the run feeling totally disconnected, no pace, no heart rate, nothing. Got home, tried every charger and button combo I could find for an hour. The support site just told me to do a hard reset, which did nothing. Ended up having to mail it back, and they said it'll be 10 business days before I even get a replacement. All those reviews talked about battery life and apps, but not one mentioned it could just give up mid-use. Has anyone else had a gadget completely fail on you like that, with no warning at all?

PSA: That $80 'smart' water bottle is just a dumb bottle with a light

I bought one last month thinking it would help me drink more water (it didn't, the app is useless). It literally just has a little LED that blinks, which you can't even see in daylight. Anyone know a real hydration tracker that's not a total gimmick?

TIL that $80 smart light bulb set is basically a paperweight without their app

I bought the 'GlowHome' starter pack for my living room, but the app needed a constant internet connection and their servers went down for a full weekend. Now I'm stuck with three bulbs that only do a dim white unless I buy their overpriced hub. Has anyone found a smart bulb brand that actually works offline?

Update: My old $50 fitness tracker finally died, so I switched to a newer model and the difference in sleep tracking is honestly shocking.

The old one just guessed based on movement, but the new one actually measures heart rate and oxygen all night, showing me I was getting way less deep sleep than I thought, so has anyone else had a gadget totally change their mind about a habit?

My old phone's camera made my cat look like a blurry potato

I mean, I was using a Galaxy S9 for years and thought the pics were fine, but then I borrowed my friend's Pixel 7 for a day. The difference is crazy, like my cat went from a fuzzy brown blob to having every single whisker clear. I didn't realize how much I was missing until I saw a side-by-side shot from my backyard. Anyone else have a gadget that seemed okay until you tried something newer?

Pro tip: Do not trust the 'waterproof' rating on that cheap fitness tracker from Amazon

I had to pick between a $30 tracker and a $90 one for swimming, and the cheap one died after two laps in my local pool. The screen went black and now it just buzzes at me. Has anyone found a real waterproof tracker that does not cost a fortune?

Saw a new kind of smart lock at a friend's apartment in Denver

It didn't have a keyhole at all, just a fingerprint reader and a keypad. He said he hasn't carried a physical key for six months. Has anyone else switched to a keyless lock and actually liked it?

Unpopular opinion: I skipped the noise cancelling headphones and I'm glad I did

Everyone said I needed a pair of premium noise cancelling headphones for my commute. I was looking at the big brand models around $350. Instead, I got a set of open-back wired headphones for $80. After using them for four months, I don't miss the noise cancelling at all. The sound is clearer, and I'm more aware of my surroundings on the train. Has anyone else gone against the grain and been happy with a simpler audio setup?

My brother-in-law showed me his 'smart' doorbell and it was a total mess

We were at his house in Phoenix for a family thing last weekend, and he was super proud of this new video doorbell he installed. He pulled out his phone to show me the feed, and the video was so choppy and dark you could barely see anything. He said, 'It's supposed to have night vision, but it just shows a black square with two glowing eyes if a cat walks up.' The app kept freezing, and the motion alerts were going off every five minutes for no reason. He spent over $200 on it, plus a yearly fee. It really made me think about how many gadgets get great reviews online but just don't work right in a normal house. Have you ever bought something that got rave reviews but was totally broken in real life?

A guy at the hardware store said my old multimeter was basically a guessing game. He wasn't wrong.

I thought those smart plant sensors were a total gimmick

My wife got me a three pack of those little sticks you put in soil for my birthday last month. I figured it was just another useless gadget. But after putting one in my fiddle leaf fig, it actually told me the soil was still wet a week after I watered it. I was about to water it again. Saved the plant from root rot for sure. Now I check the app before I even pick up the watering can. Has anyone else had a gadget they thought was silly turn out to be really useful?

My brother insisted I needed a $300+ phone for good photos

He said my old budget phone's camera was trash and I'd regret not upgrading. I borrowed his fancy phone for a week and honestly, my Pixel 6a takes pics that are just as good for posting online. Has anyone else found that the camera specs hype is kinda overblown for normal use?

Pro tip: Don't buy a 'smart' kettle that needs an app to boil water

I grabbed one on sale for $45 thinking it was cool, but the app never connected right and the manual button broke after a month. Now I'm back to using a regular kettle and I'm out that cash. Anyone know a good, simple kettle that just boils water without the tech hassle?

Hit 100 hours on my new e-reader and it's still at 40%

I bought a Kobo Libra 2 six weeks ago and just checked the battery stats for the first time. Honestly, I was sure the 30-day claim was marketing fluff, but I've read almost every night and it's barely dipped. Has anyone else found a gadget that just wildly beat the specs you were promised?

The shift in how we talk about battery life is kind of wild

I was looking at old reviews for a phone from 2015, and they all said things like 'lasts a full day with moderate use.' Now, reviews for a new phone I was checking out say 'got 8 hours and 23 minutes of screen-on time in our test.' The change happened slowly over the last five years or so. I think it's because people started using their phones for more intense stuff, like filming videos all day. So reviewers had to get more specific with numbers instead of just saying 'good' or 'bad.' Has anyone else noticed a gadget feature where the way it's reviewed has totally changed?

Bought a $30 phone gimbal that made my vacation videos look pro

I got it for a trip to Seattle last month, thinking it would be a cheap gimmick. After a few shaky test clips, I figured out the follow mode and the difference was huge. My walking shots look smooth now, not like a shaky mess. Anyone have tips for keeping the battery from dying so fast?

PSA: I was cleaning my phone's charging port wrong for years

I always used a toothpick or a paperclip to dig lint out of my phone's charging port. My Pixel 6 started having connection issues last month, and a repair guy in Phoenix told me I probably scratched the pins inside. He showed me how to use a soft plastic dental pick instead, which won't cause damage. Anyone else have a better tool for this that's safe?

My brother-in-law called my smartwatch a 'glorified anxiety band' and it stuck with me

We were at a family cookout last weekend and he saw me check my watch for the third time in ten minutes. He just laughed and said, 'You know, you used to just feel tired. Now you have a gadget to tell you your heart rate is up and your sleep score is bad, so you can feel tired and guilty.' I've had this thing for about a year, always chasing better numbers. But he's right, I realized I was letting it dictate my mood. If my readiness score was low, I'd skip a walk I would have enjoyed. I stopped listening to my own body. I took it off on Tuesday and honestly, I feel less stressed already. Has anyone else ditched their fitness tracker and felt better for it?

My old phone mount was a total mess until I saw a review for a new one

I used to have this cheap plastic phone mount in my car that would shake and drop my phone every time I hit a bump. It was so bad I had to put a piece of folded paper under the clamp just to make it grip. Then I watched a review for the iOttie Easy One Touch 5. The guy showed it holding a phone on a rough dirt road without moving at all. I bought one for about $35 last month and it's a night and day difference. The suction cup actually sticks to my dashboard, and the arm is solid metal. I can tap the screen without the whole thing wobbling now. Has anyone else switched from a junk mount to a good one and been surprised how much better it is?

My new drone decided to land itself in a tree at Griffith Park

Was trying out the follow-me mode on my DJI Mini 3 Pro. It lost signal behind a big hill and the return-to-home sent it right into a pine tree. Took me an hour and a long stick to get it down, and one propeller was cracked. Anyone know a better way to set the home point in hilly areas?

Bought a cheap smart plug that nearly fried my coffee maker

Got one of those no-name smart plugs online for about $15 last Tuesday. Wanted to set my coffee maker to start before I woke up. Plugged it in, connected to the app, seemed fine. Next morning, woke up to a burning smell from the kitchen. The plug was super hot to the touch and the coffee maker wouldn't turn on. Unplugged everything fast. The coffee maker works again on a normal outlet, thankfully. The plug is now in the trash. Should have checked for safety certifications. Has anyone else had a gadget fail in a scary way like that?