There is this idea that you buy a cloud connected Home Automation system and you’ll be able to contact your home and turn the radiators on before you get home, or open the garage as you approach, but what happens when that doesn’t work any more?
Samsung SmartThings
The Samsung Smart Things was a Home Automation system that used a Smart hub device that connected a load of devices in your home together.
I say was, because Samsung has decided to turn off the servers responsible for this technology, so the Smart Home Automation system will no longer work.
The same goes for the Samsung Smart Gear family, which includes smart watches that now don’t even tell the time. The Gear app and Wearables are now dead too.
Samsung Cloud
Samsung Cloud was the service for Calendaring, contacts, notes and photo backup on Samsung devices. Users had till the beginning of July to make sure their photos had been moved from the platform or they were deleted forever. So if you wonder where your photos have gone, Samsung is to blame!
Google Cloud Print
Google Cloud Print was a service that was discontinued in January. Cloud Print was created because the Chromebooks of the time didn’t have the ability to manage printing. Now that new Chromebooks are powerful enough to manage their own printing, the service was turned off.
I’m guessing anyone with an older Chromebook has to buy a new one, so more e-waste.
Google Android Things
Google also had a connected operating system for their Internet of Things called Android Things which was discontinued in January too.
Google Daydream VR
Google used to have a range of VR headsets they called Daydream VR but they are now discontinued and support has been stripped from Android version 10, so if you bought one the next phone you buy stops them working.
It makes me think of Google Glass, their AR product was pulled from sale and the software was discontinued last year. They have released a Google Glass 2 to Enterprise customers but how long support for that will last before that too becomes the next e-waste.
Belkin Security Cameras
Another system was Belkin Security Cameras where they relied on a server being switched on to work, and Belkin pulled the plug on the server leading to a spate of dead security cameras around the world.
Amazon Echo Look
Last year, Amazon pulled the plug on it’s Echo Look which was a fashion version of it’s Echo personal assistant. It had a camera that allowed you to wear the clothes you want and you could compare the outfits with AI and style experts to see if the outfit was best for you. It was on the market for 3 years and then Amazon pulled the plug.
Conclusion
Anything that relies on the Internet to work will eventually end up not working, and there are plenty of cases of other products that have stopped working because the manufacturer went out of business or simply didn’t want to continue supporting the product.
