https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/06/oral-b-bricks-ability-to-set-up-alexa-on-230-smart-toothbrush/
Oral-B discontinued Alexa toothbrush in 2022, now sells $400 "AI" toothbrush.
This article was annoying to read. I think they're misusing the term "bricked", right? Like the toothbrush still works, they just decommissioned the app which allows you to set up the Alexa part?
It's still shitty behaviour and people should still never buy closed source IoT devices, but I really struggled to figure out what the actual story is.
presumably the reason that people paid $230 for a $30 toothbrush was the $200 smart speaker that doubled as charging base. Once that feature is remotely disabled, we can say that the device as a whole (smart speaker that can charge a generic toothbrush, bundled with a generic toothbrush) is essentially bricked
I just wanted to point out that Oral B's basic electric toothbrushes still range from $45-$80, so it's not quite as cheap as you say it is. Your point still stands in its entirety. The only thing that makes this product different from the $45 model is the Alexa functionality, and taking that away makes it effectively not the same product.
Oral-B electric toothbrushes start at 10€ over here — the model with just one speed and only one brush included, that works with 2xAA batteries. I use mine with rechargeable AA and honestly I've forgotten when I got it. Could be 10 years.
Any hardware that couples with a mobile app is potentially a bad idea. Eventually, the company will stop developing that app, which means you just have to use that device without the mobile app. If it’s an RC car without a controller, you’re left with e-waste. If it’s an electric toothbrush, you can probably still use it, but with fewer features than before. Either way, it’s bad news for the user.
I only purchased this toothbrush from Amazon because that was the only way to get the water-resistant Alexa speaker that I wanted for the bathroom.
I only purchased this toothbrush because that was the only way to get the water-resistant Corporate Surveillance Device that I wanted for the bathroom.
I only purchased this toothbrush because that was the only way to get the water-resistant Entertainment Center/Speaker/Corporate Surveillance Device for the one room in my house that is the least comfortable, has the worst acoustics, and has the strongest expectation of privacy, and also I can't just put a regular Alexa in like a plastic bag or something because I blew my plastic bag budget on a fucking app-controlled toothbrush or whatever the fuck this is supposed to be, jesus christ
I think we need to look a bit back in time for the answer:
“If they pay a penie or two pence more for the reddinesse of them..let them looke to that, a foole and his money is soone parted.”
— From Dr. John Bridges' Defence of the Government of the Church of England, 1587.
Fucking hell, if I spent $230 on a goddamn toothbrush, I'd expect that thing to last me for a lifetime.
That has definitely been my strategy, yeah. It's just such a wild discrepancy to the handful of dollars you spend on a perfectly serviceable hand-operated brush.
Unfortunately, there are many plastic toothbrushes that are lasting lifetimes in our landfills. Once I learned that, I switched to eco-friendly ones. There just isn't a need for a smart/ai toothbrush, IMO.
🤖 I'm a bot that provides automatic summaries for articles: ::: spoiler Click here to see the summary Oral-B released the Guide for $230 in August 2020 but bricked the ability to set up or reconfigure Alexa on the product this February.
Owners could “ask to play music, hear the news, check weather, control smart home devices, and even order more brush heads by saying, ‘Alexa, order Oral-B brush head replacements,'” per Procter & Gamble's 2020 announcement.
Oral-B also bragged at the time that, in partnering with Alexa, the Guide ushered in “the truly connected bathroom.”
Guide owners can still use the Oral-B App for other features; however, the ability to use the charging base like an Alexa smart speaker—a big draw in the product’s announcement and advertising—is seriously limited.
He told Ars Technica that when he tries using the Alexa wake word now, the speaker says, "I’m having trouble connecting to the Internet.
Hubley attempted but failed to get a refund or replacement brush through Oral-B's support avenues.
Saved 77% of original text. :::