While some IoT project probably are just toys, the reason you have yet to see what IoT is supposed to do for you is because you're looking at it from the wrong

While some IoT project probably are just toys, the reason you have yet to see what IoT is supposed to do for you is because you're looking at it from the wrong perspective. IoT is about finding some sort of just-shiny-enough bauble - that may or may not have an actual useful purpose - that you find interesting enough to buy without paying attention to the data you're handing over to some company. Occasionally you will find more traditional vendor lock-in plan, but these "smart"/IoT devices usually use some amount of surveillance-as-a-business-model. Sure, there are lots of possibilities. We have barely begun to explore what is possible with {,inter}networks. I'm sure there really is a lot of very interesting ways to mix traditional products and network access. For now, though, like any new technology, the market is mostly misguided designs, scams, and safety risks.