WireCutter's Top 100 And The Wild West Of Smart Device Software Support

Longer software supports would make products safer and more sustainable. But tech reviews are recommending smart-products that die early.

Every day, there are fewer chances to opt out of using smart devices. In 2023, the average U.S. home had 17 Internet-connected devices. More recent polling shows almost one in three households have a video doorbell.

This boom in software-driven, Internet connected products begs the question: do people want everything in their life to be “smart”? The answer may well be “(Hell) No!”

Product reviews: trusted (and incomplete)

In 2025, the thrill of unboxing shiny new tech products is as American as baseball. Whether its phones, laptops, or any other kind of gadget—consumers love buying new products because of the latest and greatest features they sport. This is, in part, due to constant beam of messages sent into our brains. This week alone I’ve seen Zach Braff on my TV at least 50 times telling me to upgrade my phone with T-Mobile, as if a cracked screen is a problem no phone owner could resolve themselves.

But you don’t fall for that jazz! Heck, you’re subscribed to a newsletter about the right to repair! You’re both objective and informed! Unlike most consumers, the chances are that you like looking up reviews of tech you’re going to buy and watching reviewers you trust from outlets that give you the real deal on electronics so you know what you’re getting.

Unfortunately, there’s a gaping hole in much of the electronics review space: no one’s talking about the costs that go along with implanting software on a product that has thrived for years as a purely mechanical device. Among those costs: limited software support: The length of time a product gets software upgrades and security patches.

Such a factor is rarely at the top of consumers’ minds when they’re buying a product, falling far behind much more important features like what color my new Wi-Fi enabled floss-pick will be. If anything, consumers may assume that the product will continue to get software updates for its useful life. But nothing could be further from the truth, as the thousands of school districts that equipped their students with Chromebooks, or the tens of thousands of consumers who purchased Spotify’s Car Thing device learned the hard way. If the end of software support means your “smart” product will not just be dumb, but dead a couple months after you’ve purchased it - well…that matters, right?

Then there’s the issue of reliability. While software and Internet connectivity enable “smart” features that might otherwise be impossible, they also add a level of complexity to common, household and personal devices that can make them more prone to failure.

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In fact, back in 2020 the NYT’s Thorin Klosowski, a product reviewer for the Times’s WireCutter, wrote that it recommends smart devices each year “despite” their Internet-connected features, not because of them.

Klosowski cited the LG WM3900H, which was WireCutter’s favorite washing machine that year, despite the fact that it “suffers from inconsistent Wi-Fi connectivity,” Klosowski wrote. Despite that “the washing machine is great without it.”

Zero Consistency on Top 100 Reviewed Products

Looking at WireCutter’s 100 Most Popular Pick of 2024, roughly one-in-five had Internet-connected features or mobile apps associated with their products. And while 20% of products might not sound like a big percentage, my guess is that the 20% figure is because nobody has taken the plunge to make an Internet-connected peanut butter mixer (at least not yet).