Perhaps unsurprisingly, smart homes are hot right now – apps and AI are weaving their way into every facet of home life, from turning on the lights and checking security footage to adjusting the thermostat and managing your family's hectic schedule.

"Smart" doesn't always mean... smart, though, and embedding technology into everyday household appliances can sometimes backfire.

Take Neato Robotics' robot vacuum, for example, which ceased operating in May 2023 before its parent company, Vorwerk, phased out cloud services from October 2025 – leaving owners without app controls.

Some might laugh and point to perfectly functional "dumb" vacuums, but Neato is hardly alone in this brave new world: smart lights, cameras, thermostats, and myriad other gadgets can depend on services that might vanish overnight.

In 2026, when almost everything comes with an app or cloud features, buying smart is becoming increasingly important – especially if you want to avoid gadgets with a hidden expiration date.

While 'the cloud' might be nice branding, the reality is that many smart gadgets rely on physical infrastructure operated by manufacturers or third-party providers to process commands, manage features, and so on.

For cloud-dependent gadgets, then, the hardware isn't always quite as independent as it might seem.

The situation is exemplified by Belkin, one of the top smart home accessory makers. Back in January, Belkin discontinued cloud services for numerous WeMo products, affecting smart plugs and other household gadgets.

As a result, the WeMo app stopped working, alongside cloud-dependent features like Google Assistant integration.

Source link