I’m in the same camp. All my home automation is monitoring and remote control. Video doorbell, electronic deadbolt, leak sensors, wifi thermostat, irrigation controller, video cameras, and garage door monitor. Some outside lights are on timers because I want them on certain times of the day but no inside lights.
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When we had to rewire a big chunk of our house after we moved in, we installed Lutron Caseta smart switches in all the places it made sense.
I disagree with your take. They are amazing. Here’s why I love them:
- Makes it easy from my phone to realize I left a light on in the basement or kitchen and quickly get it from bed when I’m going to sleep (not the most useful, but handy)
- Our kitchen needs to get re-done, but in the meantime, our light switches are not sensibly placed. If I need more light, and my hands are dirty, I have to walk 12 paces to get to a switch that I need to hit with my elbow. Or I could just ask Siri to turn on all the lights in the kitchen.
- We have one television in the house in our theatre room, which is in the basement. If we want to watch a movie or show with dinner, and we each have a bowl/plate in one hand and a beverage in the other, I say “curtain call” and Siri sets the lights in the theatre to 10% for eating while viewing. It also makes it a lot easier to see going down the stairs to the basement if the soft glow of our theatre room lights up the staircase. Then, during the movie, when we’re done eating, I can also turn off the lights in the theatre without getting up and disrupting the film.
- Similarly, heading back upstairs after, we can ask Siri to turn on the lights in the kitchen while our hands are full. It’s especially useful at this time of year when it’s pitch dark outside by 5pm.
- We put the switches in the laundry room as well for the same reasons. Why fumble with a light switch when you’re carrying a load or two of laundry?
- I also have them in our offices, where they are less useful. But my office is also in the basement, and if I’m coming downstairs with my laptop, a cup of coffee, and an Amazon package, it’s nice to tell the dingus just to turn on my lights without juggling things.
- When we leave the house for a few days, I have lights in each room turn on and off randomly every 20 minutes from sunset to midnight to make it look like we’re home. Our neighbourhood isn’t known for break-ins, thankfully, but it’s cheap peace of mind.
After a year and a half of this, both my wife and I agree smart switches would be the first mods we’d make to our next house too. We have found them, for us, to be invaluable. Far easier than bumbling around in the dark.
I don’t know if seeing the value in smart switches is contrary, but if it is, I’ll leave that here.
My real contrary opinion is that I think AR/VR tech isn’t going to be truly ready for primetime for a while (even if we see Apple’s first version next year), and I don’t think it’s going to light the world on fire. I also don’t think I’m interested: most new computing peripherals have largely just been ways to shop online or spend time on Twitter when I’m bored, and I don’t need to do either of those activities with a peripheral attached to my face. So I’m bearish on the whole product category.
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In a recent podcast, I can’t remember if it was Connected, Upgrade or Apple Insider, the hosts talked about how after updating HomeKit they had to reset something like 40+ switches. No thank you. 
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I only have 2 automated awnings and a lightbulb, and I was afraid of updating to iOS 16.2. So far, it has not asked to update anything, but I will refuse to do so.
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Nothing like that here, probably because Lutron has its own hub. I think a lot of products in the smart home category are thoughtless junk, but the Lutron set is flawless. Can’t say that about any other automatic tech I own.
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I’ve heard similar about the Lutron stuff. Flawless.
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I’ve got a few contrary MPU opinions 
- I like and use Evernote all the time.
- I find it easy to export notes from Evernote
- I don’t particularly like Apple Photos
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I hear you.
- I used Evernote for several years and liked it.
- I never had a problem exporting notes from Evernote.
- I stopped trusting Apple Photos when it started renaming my photos in the Masters/Original folder.
Things change and even good companies will disappoint you. But there are excellent alternatives for just about everything.
I now consider Apple Photos as a backup.
I also agree with the posts that indicate that most of the benefits were in the first few years. I have been listening to MPU for about 5 or 6 years. Although I am an experienced MAC user (since System 1), I did learn a lot about a lot of software packages. Tried a lot of them, used them for a while, kept some, dropped some, changed some, but for the last few years mostly stable: Hazel, Alfred, DEVONThink, Todoist. I did add Moom a few months ago but it doesn’t really factor in to my workflow, just a convenience/utility. Also, I am very, very close to pulling the trigger on moving to Things (my Todoist subscription renews in about 2 weeks). But I don’t play much with new stuff. What I have works and is comfortable and I feel like I am pretty efficient. (Home automation is a different topic so I wont go into it here).
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My contrary hot-take:
- It’s ok to NOT be a ‘power user’
I’ve gone back to a hybrid paper planner system, I use Google Docs/Sheets/Tasks/Calendar/Photos. I do almost everything in Chrome browser. I’ve never used DevonThink or OmniFocus or TextExpander and I doubt I ever will.
Some of this is due to having retired five years ago, the rest is just the way things go.
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I think that is an important point. But another way to look at it is that there is no reason to have more Power than needed. Tools require time and maintenance, whether it is a saw, or a kitchen knife, or a piece of software. You don’t want to spend time keeping your kitchen knives sharp if you only eat smoothies and you don’t want to spend time maintaining a software tool if it doesn’t save you more time and/or effort (or provide more pleasure and less friction) than it costs to maintain it.
I am mostly retired except for one gig which requires writing a lot of text. So tools to do that save me time. I have used TextExpander, Popclip, Alfred, etc. Eventually I whittled the list down to just Alfred. I keep Alfred sharp because I use it every day. I don’t need craft or obsidian or hook (although I like backlinks), etc. I take notes in DevonThink and I write documents in Word (which I hate, but that is the requirement).
Similarly, I have never used OmniFocus but every time MacSparky talks about he confirms to me that I really don’t want to try it. Keeping a simple todo list in Todoist has worked well for me (although, as noted, I will likely move to Things, it matches some of my work habits a bit better). But if you don’t need that and a paper planner addresses every day needs, then that is the way to go.
I am always tempted, like most of the people here, to play with new stuff because “it’s there”, but I always try to ask myself “do you really want to get involved with this?” More often than not, the answer is no 
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I agree 100% I find the whole thing absurd to be honest.
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That was me with Readwise and Readwise Reader this week. I signed up for a 60 day trial from some guy on YouTube and deleted my account a day later. I can’t stand daily emails (I know I can turn them off) and I just don’t need more stuff to sort through and organize every day. And $100 a year for the privilege? No thanks.
I get why people love it but it’s not my thing.
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Really? I had much better quality from my built in camera on my 2015 iMac. Just sayin”
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I like how the contrary opinions are converging on “act retired.”
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I have a Studio display being driven by a 14" MBP and when I switch between the cameras and ask people which looks better they tell me that there isn’t a noticable difference. I haven’t had one person (out of the 6 or 7 that I’ve asked) tell me that the MBP camera looks better. To me, they look similar, but frankly on a Zoom call nobody has especially good picture quality.
…and that (contrary opinion here?) is probably a good thing.
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As an elderly retired physician, I am familiar with the “danger” that falling poses to old people. I generously place “automatic” nightlights in many locations of the house.
I am happy with the brand AUVON.
The simplicity of the system is what appeals to me most. I know that I will not have to Google some topic in the future if something goes “wrong”. At worst I can just throw them away.
A small metal plate is glued to the wall. The device sticks magnetically to that. If it is DARK and if it DETECTS MOTION, it turns on for about 20 seconds. That is it. I don’t care if servers crash or if new software comes out etc. It goes for several months before needing to be recharged. Just pull off wall and recharge and then stick back in place. It does not care where outlets are in your house. It doesn’t care where its companions are. It does care if some hub power supply get dislodged by the dog. There is no “conflict” with some other device. It does only one thing: turn on when it detects motion in the dark. If it ever fails, then it gets throw away.
After the recent home automation podcast, I bought a hub and various “devices” for Christmas just so I can “understand” home automation more. After the holidays I will play with this stuff for my amusement. But I am aware that when I have done similar stuff in the past I just have to deal with more “stuff” to be dusted and “understood” months after purchase.
I have embedded memories from childhood so I know how to turn lights on and off using switches.
I am glad that others are pushing this technology along. I am interested enough to play with it. But I am not embracing more complexity in my life and that of my spouse. About once every two months, I have to do something with my WiFi because there is some problems with some device. Syncing data is very convenient but there is a drumbeat of occasional failures or “peculiarities” that are going to demand my attention. Managing backup. Etc. For me this stuff works most of the time: say 98%. But then a problem rolls around and off you are again having to deal with it. I do not want to “add” to this pile of things even when it is “almost” perfect.
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I completely agree. I find it crazy that people invest so much in lighting and security systems. I got one lighting hub to test and find a switch more convenient than opening my phone or asking Siri.
Also, all the home security with smart devices makes zero sense to me. I’ve had two houses broken into in the past and the first thing the robbers did was cut power on both occasions. This makes most “smart” security systems useless as it disconnects power and Wi-Fi. I know a friend who spent hundreds on cameras, and then they were robbed, and the intruder cut the electricity before they entered so nothing was recorded. I much prefer professional systems that use batteries and SIM cards so they work during robberies.
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Thanks for the product suggestion, I just added a few of these to my cart. I can think of several places in the house for these especially in our guest bedrooms and bathrooms.
I am pleased that people are advancing this technology, as I can see its potential. However, based on my own experience with two light switches that required resetting in HomeKit approximately every month (I have subsequently put them in a drawer), the potential headaches and extra time that this technology often requires to maintain lowers the cost to benefit ratio. I am an example of technology adding unintended cost in lost time, lost productivity and increased frustration with my recent difficulties with syncing my Apple Notes. This experience reinforces my position that I will only use home automation when it is a much more seamless, plug and play experience. It will get there, but it is not there yet.
Case in Point: MyQ getting worse and worse, any good alternatives?