I’m starting to wonder about the long-term viability of subscription services for smart home devices. It seems like every company wants to lock you into a monthly fee for features that used to be included, like video recording or extended cloud storage for security cameras.
On one hand, I understand the need for companies to generate recurring revenue to support ongoing growth and server costs. But on the other hand, after investing in the initial hardware, it feels a bit nickel-and-diming to then be forced into a subscription just to access core functionality. Is this trend enduring, or will consumers eventually push back and demand more upfront-cost options with lifetime access? I’m particularly concerned about the “subscription creep” – features that were once free slowly migrating behind paywalls.
What are your thoughts? Do you think this model is here to stay, or will we see a shift back towards more conventional purchase models for smart home devices? Has anyone cancelled their subscriptions due to price increases or feature reductions? I’m curious about the general consensus on this.