17 ridiculous 'smart' gadgets that really exist

With some other products, it’s harder to see the mass appeal.

The past few years have brought a wave of self-proclaimed smart devices that take the “things” part of “Internet of Things” very seriously. Sometimes, these go past the point of utility and into the land of cynicism. They're often overpriced. And few companies ever seem to care about keeping them secure. (Sometimes, to disastrous effect.)

Quirky Egg Minder

Hidrate Spark

Brita Infinity WiFi Connected Pitcher

Hatch Baby Smart Changing Pad

Onvi Prophix

Flosstime

Kuvée Bottle

Juicero

Flatev

Chip Smart Cookie Oven

So it turns out people are pretty fond of that Keurig business model. The Chip is a little WiFi-connected oven that works like the Juicero and Flatev, only with cookies. You buy a set of proprietary “cookie pods,” pop them in, and let the oven do the work. There’s an app, of course, that notifies you when your batch is done and lets you order new pods as you wish.

All this comes from SideChef, which does run a relatively established cooking app. It raised more than $100,000 on both Kickstarter and Indiegogo last year, and is set to ship by October. The oven itself will cost $249 when it becomes available, with cookie pods going for $1-2 depending on your dough or $14 a month through a monthly subscription.

While it’s hard to call anything that facilitates cookie-making bad, it’s not like baking cookies is a terribly involved process as it is. If nothing else, it’s definitely more affordable. SideChef says the Chip takes about 10 minutes to bake its batches, too, which isn’t that much faster than usual, and the oven only appears to make four cookies at a time.

Still, the Chip is more or less an Easy-Bake Oven for adults, so if you're a cookie fiend with money to burn and no desire to actually make your snack of choice, maybe keep an eye out.

June Intelligent Oven

The June is a smart countertop oven that uses internal cameras, an Nvidia Tegra chipset, and artificial intelligence to recognize different foods you place within it, then cook them automatically. It was made by former Apple engineers, and it’s actually available to purchase today. Various reviews suggest that, when it works, it works very well.

Plus, unlike some other items on this list, the June oven is actually getting at a good idea. You might not need an oven that can send messages to your phone, but plenty of people have no idea what they’re doing in the kitchen, and the idea of coming home after a long day and having your oven bake a perfect salmon with no effort has appeal. If people aren’t willing to learn the “finer things” of cooking and just use Seamless anyway, why not encourage more home-cooked meals?

The problem is that the June costs $1,500, and it still lacks the nuance to recognize anything you throw at it. For now, it’s still a bit ridiculous, and still a bit of an emblem of Silicon Valley excess. But if it gets better (and cheaper), there’s potential.

HapiFork

Oombrella

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Belty Good Vibes

i.Con Smart Condom Ring

The iCon is a sex wearable currently up for pre-registration by British retailer British Condoms for about $74. It’s picked up steam in the press as a “smart condom,” but that’s not accurate: Instead, it’s an adjustable, waterproof ring that goes around a guy’s base and is said to track his “thrust velocity,” skin temperature, calories burned, and other stats during intercourse. You’ll then be able to share those stats with other iCon users, because what even is privacy anymore. (Though you can keep everything anonymous if desired.)

The iCon doesn’t have a set release date other than sometime later this year. The whole thing feels like a goof, so it's best to treat it as such. Moving on!

Furbo

Bruno