I can’t imagine why these things even need an app.
You have to set the thing up, just hit the buttons on the device.
Comment on Smart sous vide cooker to start charging $2/month for 10-year-old companion app
kevindqc@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
I haven’t used the app in a while and opened it and saw this… Well never buying Anova again
bdonvr@thelemmy.club 4 weeks ago
Kalkaline@leminal.space 4 weeks ago
The one and only time I used the app it lost connectivity and left my chuck roast in lukewarm water for who knows how long. Tossed it because I didn’t want to kill my family with food poisoning. It’s nice if you have a WIFI connected device, so you can put something on the counter in an ice water bath in the morning with the sous vide wand in there and flip it on before you leave work in the afternoon. Also seeing that the water has maintained an appropriate temp during a long cook is nice too. It’s a niche case use, but that’s why it’s nice to have it connected.
Wrench@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
I have a different brand, but I can see the value. The interface on the small screen on the device I have is very clumsy. Took me a while to figure it out, and I’m very tech savvy. I can see a mobile app being useful, also for notifications so I don’t independently have to set timers.
Also as a former mobile dev, mobile apps take maintenance to keep up with OS changes over time. And developers are expensive.
What I imagine happened is that they probably outsourced their app development to a 3rd party, because they make hardware, not software. That contract probably expired, including their ongoing support agreement, and they’ve probably negotiated an hourly rate for support on-demand going forward, maybe with a different 3rd party dev.
So in all likelihood, they’re just passing the cost for ongoing maintenance on an EOL model to the customer.
However, that looks absolutely insane from a consumer standpoint.
I don’t know their Financials, but they may not be big enough to just swallow the cost for brand PR if they’re not selling at a volume and profit margin to be able lose money on old products.
This is why, even as a dev that used to work in the mobile and IOT space, I tend to purchase dumb devices if there are good options. Smart devices get dumb as soon as the shine has dulled.
Reyali@lemm.ee 4 weeks ago
My partner has an Anovo affected by this and he knows the details better than me, but IIRC the app allows you to set times to change temps or things like that. The device still works without the app, but you lose the convenience factor of being able to monitor or make changes at a distance.
helenslunch@feddit.nl 4 weeks ago
LOL they absolutely don’t and mine does not have one.
kelvie@lemmy.ca 4 weeks ago
Size and easy to clean (and waterproof) is one, I have a ChefSteps Joule which is app control only, but it is much easier to clean, and much smaller than my old Anova (fits in a drawer with other crap)
Granted it is more annoying to use the app than the controls, but the trade off for us was worth it, if not for everyone.
bdonvr@thelemmy.club 4 weeks ago
They could just use capacitive touch for controls, inferior to buttons but just as cleanable. There’s little reason to not have both options
Passerby6497@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
Capacitive touch controls around anything with the potential to generate steam or condensation is an awful idea. At best they just don’t work with damn fingers, at worst the buttons short or randomly activate because of the water that builds up.
Tikiporch@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
I have one, and didn’t know it had an app.
wise_pancake@lemmy.ca 4 weeks ago
That’s bullshit
SpacePirate@lemmy.ml 4 weeks ago
Actively encouraging people to toss perfectly good hardware to fuel their subscription bullshit… and these guys weren’t even recently bought by a VC firm or anything?
WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
They were bought by Electrolux in 2017, and have been enshittifying ever since. Cheaper, lower quality parts, etc. They’re just profiting from the brand as they turn it to shit. Never buy their products.
Kushan@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
Unrelated but how would you rate sous vide cooking? I am tempted for a bunch of reasons but I’m worried it’ll be just another kitchen appliance that I rarely use.
frezik@midwest.social 4 weeks ago
For steaks, they’re excellent. About the only thing I haven’t been able to do over a good steakhouse restaurant is an extremely crisply outer layer. There’s some techniques there that I haven’t learned yet that might fix that. Everything else about the juiciness and taste is easily the same or better.
Solemn@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 weeks ago
Make sure you dry your steak extremely well, and then basically shallow fry it in a cast iron or other heavy pan. Don’t need to deep fry it, but if you really want it as crispy, you want a real layer of oil.
One strength of sous vide is you can get even normal steaks much more tender than otherwise possible, just by extending your sous vide time up to two or three hours.
morbidcactus@lemmy.ca 4 weeks ago
If you’re not committed, you don’t actually need an appliance for it, have had great results with a Dutch oven and a programmable BBQ thermometer monitoring the water temp. One of my burners goes really low so just a matter of adjusting to keep in range. You don’t get forced circulation (get some natural circulation though) and it’s not set and forget, but you can do with stuff you probably already have on hand. Done with heavy freezer bags before I was gifted a vacuum sealer.
kevindqc@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
I was using it for steaks and it’s been great - sous vide then cast iron pan - but I moved somewhere where the smoke alarm is extremely sensitive so haven’t used it much lately 😞
baru@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
There are different type of smoke alarms. Some detect smoke. There are two ways of doing that. Near a kitchen area it’s usually best to get a completely different one that just uses changes in temperature. Though they will only notify you way matter. So highly recommend keeping the existing one and moving that one somewhere else.
MediaSensationalism@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
I would see if there’s a way to disable updates for that app.
Empricorn@feddit.nl 4 weeks ago
“supporting them”. I understand bug fixes and the inevitable support end-of-life cycle, etc; I really do. But the reasoning behind abandoning an old, yet in-use product is because you want them to buy a newer alternative.
ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de 4 weeks ago
Do you need the apk to use it at all? Or is it just a little perk to go along with it?
Hopefully, someone hacks the apk so it just keeps working.
mosiacmango@lemm.ee 4 weeks ago
It let’s you remote control it and pick recipes that will autoset the temps.
So, not at all. Sous vide is a “set and forget” cooking method like a crockpot. You can walk away and leave the thing running long past the minimum time and have no issues because the whole point is it takes food to an exact temp and no further.
ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de 4 weeks ago
Yeah. I’ve used sous vide for a long time myself. Sounds like the whole apk could be replaced with asking the internet what temp to cook X at, and then setting your phones timer for cook time.
Fester@lemm.ee 4 weeks ago
Imagine seeing that message and buying another product from them.
“It’s time to artificially create waste. Don’t worry, you won’t see this message again. Our new cookers are designed to not last 10 years.”
BillibusMaximus@sh.itjust.works 4 weeks ago
100%. They’ve just guaranteed that the sous vide unit that I have now is the last Anova product I will ever buy.
brbposting@sh.itjust.works 4 weeks ago
Ung
(Don’t) hope they did their math right and the “well, it’s just $2/mo” crowd is large enough to offset the principled crowd
ripcord@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
That notice doesn’t even say there is a $2/mo option. App just won’t work at all.
werefreeatlast@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
Imagine Goodyear 500 tires!..for just 30 bucks a month you too can get the most inexpensive tires of all. 500 mile tires!. After 500 miles they don’t spin or hold air so we recommend setting your odometer properly.