i marvel at simple mechanical-electric solutions . e.g. toasters, simple coffee pots, thermostats. 100+ year duty cycles. amazing elegance and resilience
My wife bugs me to replace physical light switches with smart one. Sorry I'm too busy for that one lol.
I’ve pulled most of my smart switches due to reliability issues (and sometimes security concerns)
They might've not regressed, but those things were bad UX.
Those things are really hard to control, and no scheduling, no remote control, no sensors, etc.
They are simple to contol, turn a dial to the temperature you want. Remote control and sensors are just things Google has convinced you to think you need so you'll buy their fancy thermostat (that is now e-waste).
That gives you a false sense of precision. I had a bad experience with an old one. 100% would not buy the old mercury tech over anything else "smart" or not available today
even the primitive IC-based ones are better. self contained, 50+ year lifespan.