This is beyond my desire to just keep things simple. What is the point of washing machine you can control remotely? You have to put clothes in at the start and take them out at the end. It offers no convenience.
I also would like phone notifications, it is sort of in a corner of the basement so I don't hear the alarms.
In theory you don’t need a computer/internet to start it later, but that would require you knowing when you want to start it upfront. Meaning there is still a unique capability for the smart washer.
A fully analog/mechanical washing machine is just a big mechanical timer controlled relay behind the knob like a toaster oven. If you set it without power, it just runs through the timer without doing anything.
The machine would need to have a timer mechanism that is turned by an electric clock motor, not a mechanical spring with gears etc.
Or you could possibly set up an electric actuator that blocks the knob from turning. Then trigger both the power-on relay and the actuator retraction to do both at the same time.
Pure mechanical timer based washing machines have been driven by electric clock motors (line powered) for at least 50 years (as that is as far back as I remember knowing how they worked). So if line power is out, the timer does not run.
Of course, the delay timer on the line would need enough power handling capacity to carry the load of the washing machine.
My washer has dials to select the modes and then a final push button that activates an internal relay (guessing from the loud mechanical switching sound it makes when it goes on). If all you need to do is complete the circuit of the push button. You can just unmount that push button and hook its wires up to your timer mechanism which completes the circuit when the timer expires.
The dryer on the other hand does have a mechanical timer. But that doesn't activate until you turn the dryer on with the push button. So you could set the time of the dryer and not turn it on either, and use the same mechanism as above.
Mechanical Washing machines don't use spring wound clocks, they run of the AC frequency of the mains. It generally drives a small solenoid that increments the clock. The control drum is significant more complex than a toaster ovens timer
My current electronic washing machine saves its current cycle state when it looses power, and happily continues when power resumes 2 hours later (unlike my dishwasher, which does not). Although You'd have to start it before turning off the relay, so not as easy as the old mechanical dials
I can't think of a single mechanical device that is more reliable than an equivalent solid-state version of that same device.
Solid state relay vs electromechanical relay. Timex quartz watch vs. an automatic or manual watch.
Laundry rooms can be both hot and cold, are almost always humid, are often home to caustic chemicals, and a dryer's components are constantly exposed to dust in the form of lint: the perfect use case for solid state.
Spraying a pcb with a coating is much cheaper and more reliable than sealing a mechanical mechanism.
Instead of resisting, the smart move is to agitate for and promote secure, open, standards.
I found little utility for appliances with remote access until the number of humans to keep fed and clothed grew beyond myself and a partner.
How?
Every little tweak can add up to a staggering amount of time around monotony in a lifetime.
A basic example: https://efficiencyiseverything.com/water-per-second/
You load the machine say in the afternoon/evening after work etc, and then it decides based on historical data that 02:35 is the local minima and starts. You run the quick 1-hour program because it's Good Enough(tm), then the laundry lies wet in the machine from 03:45 until you wake up around 06:00 to start your day hanging it? In my experience, but perhaps this is just local circumstance (climate etc) you can't leave damp laundry in the machine for hours on end, it will get smelly and need to be re-washed.
Also, not being able to plan when you deal with the wet laundry because of the power price hunting feature sounds super annoying and stressful. Perhaps there's an assumption that after the laundry it will also tumble dry; we rarely do that due to it being bad for the clothes and costly in energy etc.
My washer and heat-pump dryer don't really use that much electricity. They've become super efficient. There are better and lower hanging fruits than such appliances these days.
It’s called “SmartStart”
It works very well in my experience. Load the machine in the morning, and it will start later in the day, then send my phone a notification when the load is done
The above doesn't apply to me specifically, but I would like notifications when my washing is done and thus when I can put another load in. This can be done with energy metering or sensors that attach to washing machines or tumble dryers, but not done it yet myself, but would very much like to.
So it seems people are willing to pay extra for the feature.