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I never understood how people find setting a timer on their phone so excruciatingly difficult that they need to buy a $100+ device they can speak to to do it fo

by 65 2y ago

I never understood how people find setting a timer on their phone so excruciatingly difficult that they need to buy a $100+ device they can speak to to do it for them. Or perhaps it's another case of shiny object syndrome.

taeric 2y ago
I don't have my phone on me at all times. More, it is often the case that I will set the timer for whatever I just put in the oven and let the kids know to take it out when the timer goes off while I go take care of something in the yard/other. That is, the timer is often specific to the room I set the timer in. Not to me.
- dangus 2y ago
  Is not having your phone on you at all times worth spending money on a stupid speaker device? And you need one in every room you spend time in? Like, the solution is to put your phone in your pocket. I don't get it. Unless you are walking around naked most of the time, the solution is a device you already own. That's something I like a lot about Apple's smart home setup having the option of having the Apple TV as the hub. I don't want or need a smart voice command speaker considering I already own the hardware capable of such things. I have no use for a low quality shitty speaker device that sits there and does nothing useful besides take voice commands.
  - Spivak 2y ago
    I feel like you decided the speakers are stupid and therefore anything someone might use them for must also be by the transitive property. My voice "assistant" runs on my NUC via HomeAssistant. The only thing I needed to buy was a USB mic. I was already using HA and had some old computer speakers lying around. It works great and I'm not tempted to get out my phone as much. Being able to call out multiple timers while cooking and change the music is so nice.
  - taeric 2y ago
    Did you read the rest of my post? As hands free and stays in the room when I leave are pretty big deals. I confess being able to turn the oven off or switch to warming temperature would be nice.
    - dangus 2y ago
      I can buy timers that stay in the room on Amazon for $6 for a two pack. Physical timers. Timers already exist as a standalone product. I just have this hilarious picture in my mind of all these smart speaker users constantly balancing random objects in their arms as if they are not allowed to have their hands free or else they'll melt. Setting a timer on the microwave or stove you already own is fucking impossible. No way I can do that! I gotta install an Internet-connected microphone and speaker in my house for that!
- massysett 2y ago
  Just buy a timer. Amazon has plenty of them, or if you want fancy, get the Extra Big And Loud Timer. https://www.thermoworks.com/extra-big-loud/ https://www.thermoworks.com/extra-big-loud/ A house guest sneered at the several timers in my kitchen and asked why I don’t use my phone. I like having timers assigned to the kitchen.
  - taeric 2y ago
    "Hands free" is sorta the point? I already have several things, including the oven, that have buttons to do this sort of thing. I don't use those because I have my hands occupied. I get that not everyone would want this. I'm ok with that.
  - Marsymars 2y ago
    The timer you linked is more expensive than my kitchen Alexa device that's exclusively a timer.
theultdev 2y ago
would be nicer if there was a cheaper / simpler alternative (offline voice recognition, just timers and clock, possibly weather) but it's nice to use your voice so you don't contaminate your phone. (preparing chicken and such) the kitchen is pretty much the only use-case for voice assistants imo.
- nix0n 2y ago
  If all you really need is a timer, you can just use a digital watch. I don't worry about getting mine dirty because I just wash the watch when I watch my hands.
  - theultdev 2y ago
    the timer getting dirty is not the only issue. you don't always have hands free to fiddle with a watch. more often than not, both hands are doing something, and setting a timer is... timely.
    - nix0n 2y ago
      You don't need both hands free to set a watch's timer. You can still hold something in the hand that the watch is strapped to.
      - theultdev 2y ago
        you need a few fingers free to touch the watch on your wrist. sometimes you're putting something in the oven, sometimes you're mixing something (holding the bowl and whip) tons of instances where two hands are in use and voice commands help.
Larrikin 2y ago
If you already have one the utility is obvious in the kitchen. You don't want to touch your dirty hands to your phone and you definitely don't want to touch your food after touching your even dirtier phone. I don't think that is useful enough to allow Bezos to listen to everything in my home, but will absolutely enable this feature in a product like Home Assistant.
- TeMPOraL 2y ago
  > absolutely enable this feature in a product like Home Assistant. It's been there for half a year or so; just add either OpenAI or Anthropic LLM integrations to Home Assistant, and you'll get a better personal assistant than anything Apple, Google or Amazon ever released. The magic really is 1) SOTA LLMs that are good at understanding what you mean, and 2) no commercial bullshit that's degrading functionality (like having to say brand names to do stuff).
drusepth 2y ago
It's convenience. I have a device in my kitchen that's hands-free, can set timers, show recipes, etc, that's always there when I'm cooking. I don't usually have my phone on me, but even if I did I need to at least unlock it to enable voice commands, which instantly kills any notion of it being truly hands-free.
kemitche 2y ago
Here's a few dozen use cases based on my own use of smart home devices: - Hands are full or dirty while cooking. Voice activation is more convenient. True for not just timers, but every other aspect - music playing, controlling home devices like lights, watching something on YouTube, etc. - The above also applies to any case where my hands can't readily access my phone, such as wanting to listen/change music when showering. - As the other commenter said, sometimes the timer needs to be "room-specific" rather than on my phone (which stays with me) - The device has a decent speaker, so makes a convenient Spotify device. The voice activation is sufficient, though I can also control the device via Spotify on my phone if there's occasional blips. - Combined with smart light switches, I have convenient control over various aspects of lighting in my home - Combined with Chromecast / Google TV, it provides voice activated access to pause/play/change what I'm watching. - Basic internet queries, such as how long it will take to drive somewhere or when a certain place will close, work well also. None of these use cases _individually_ is so amazing I'd spend $100+, but the combined total value is great for me.
- dangus 2y ago
  Smart speakers just don't solve a problem. Period. - Don't need to control home devices or watch shit while you're cooking. If I really want to queue up a video I just do that before I start cooking. - Don't need music while showering, who cares, showering takes 5 minutes - Again just like "oh it's for music" - Yes I like controlling smart lights but I can just hold the power button on my phone and tell it what to do instead of bothering with a speaker in every room - I just put the remote nearby? or use the remote on the phone? What's so hard about pausing TV with a phone/TV remote? - Basic internet queries, a.k.a., the smartphone I always have on me
  - miohtama 2y ago
    We build the most sophisticated AI in the world to open Spotify app instead of pressing Play on a phone
    - dangus 2y ago
taco_emoji 2y ago
This is so disingenuous. Echos are nowhere near $100 at the baseline, no one is buying it JUST for the timer, and no one finds setting a phone "excruciatingly difficult". Calm down.
Underphil 2y ago
On the rare occasions I watch TV, I'm incredulous at the adverts for technology that create these almost utopian looking lifestyles. I think to myself "who is taken in by this?". As it turns out, these are the people who are taken in by it.
dboreham 2y ago
Massive lack of insight. The lady in the box on the kitchen counter is a "groupware timer". The timer on my watch is of no use to my wife in knowing when to turn off the oven when I'm in the bathroom.
- Marsymars 2y ago
  The Echo Clock is really excellent in my kitchen - anyone in the kitchen can visually see how much time is left on multiple timers. I'd switch to a comparable Siri or Home Assistant clock if such a product was available.
kyleee 2y ago
Obviously nobody finds it excruciatingly difficult, but you have a severe lack of empathy and imagination if you can’t see the utility here. Timers while cooking (hands dirty and/or full), measurements while woodworking/crafting/making, etc. and more as detailed thoroughly in other comments
skydhash 2y ago
I set time on my phone by voice (which is the only thing I use Siri for), because it's way quicker to say "5 minutes" than to try to set it through the app even with shortcut. But I have a kitchen timer (big, fat buttons and big digits) which I prefer to use in the kitchen because it's distinctly loud. My homepods are mostly for music.

by 65 2y ago

taeric 2y ago

I don't have my phone on me at all times. More, it is often the case that I will set the timer for whatever I just put in the oven and let the kids know to take it out when the timer goes off while I go take care of something in the yard/other. That is, the timer is often specific to the room I set the timer in. Not to me.

dangus 2y ago
Is not having your phone on you at all times worth spending money on a stupid speaker device? And you need one in every room you spend time in? Like, the solution is to put your phone in your pocket. I don't get it. Unless you are walking around naked most of the time, the solution is a device you already own. That's something I like a lot about Apple's smart home setup having the option of having the Apple TV as the hub. I don't want or need a smart voice command speaker considering I already own the hardware capable of such things. I have no use for a low quality shitty speaker device that sits there and does nothing useful besides take voice commands.
- Spivak 2y ago
  I feel like you decided the speakers are stupid and therefore anything someone might use them for must also be by the transitive property. My voice "assistant" runs on my NUC via HomeAssistant. The only thing I needed to buy was a USB mic. I was already using HA and had some old computer speakers lying around. It works great and I'm not tempted to get out my phone as much. Being able to call out multiple timers while cooking and change the music is so nice.
- taeric 2y ago
  Did you read the rest of my post? As hands free and stays in the room when I leave are pretty big deals. I confess being able to turn the oven off or switch to warming temperature would be nice.
  - dangus 2y ago
    I can buy timers that stay in the room on Amazon for $6 for a two pack. Physical timers. Timers already exist as a standalone product. I just have this hilarious picture in my mind of all these smart speaker users constantly balancing random objects in their arms as if they are not allowed to have their hands free or else they'll melt. Setting a timer on the microwave or stove you already own is fucking impossible. No way I can do that! I gotta install an Internet-connected microphone and speaker in my house for that!
massysett 2y ago
Just buy a timer. Amazon has plenty of them, or if you want fancy, get the Extra Big And Loud Timer. https://www.thermoworks.com/extra-big-loud/ https://www.thermoworks.com/extra-big-loud/ A house guest sneered at the several timers in my kitchen and asked why I don’t use my phone. I like having timers assigned to the kitchen.
- taeric 2y ago
  "Hands free" is sorta the point? I already have several things, including the oven, that have buttons to do this sort of thing. I don't use those because I have my hands occupied. I get that not everyone would want this. I'm ok with that.
- Marsymars 2y ago
  The timer you linked is more expensive than my kitchen Alexa device that's exclusively a timer.

theultdev 2y ago

would be nicer if there was a cheaper / simpler alternative (offline voice recognition, just timers and clock, possibly weather) but it's nice to use your voice so you don't contaminate your phone. (preparing chicken and such) the kitchen is pretty much the only use-case for voice assistants imo.

nix0n 2y ago
If all you really need is a timer, you can just use a digital watch. I don't worry about getting mine dirty because I just wash the watch when I watch my hands.
- theultdev 2y ago
  the timer getting dirty is not the only issue. you don't always have hands free to fiddle with a watch. more often than not, both hands are doing something, and setting a timer is... timely.
  - nix0n 2y ago
    You don't need both hands free to set a watch's timer. You can still hold something in the hand that the watch is strapped to.
    - theultdev 2y ago
      you need a few fingers free to touch the watch on your wrist. sometimes you're putting something in the oven, sometimes you're mixing something (holding the bowl and whip) tons of instances where two hands are in use and voice commands help.

Larrikin 2y ago

If you already have one the utility is obvious in the kitchen. You don't want to touch your dirty hands to your phone and you definitely don't want to touch your food after touching your even dirtier phone. I don't think that is useful enough to allow Bezos to listen to everything in my home, but will absolutely enable this feature in a product like Home Assistant.

TeMPOraL 2y ago
> absolutely enable this feature in a product like Home Assistant. It's been there for half a year or so; just add either OpenAI or Anthropic LLM integrations to Home Assistant, and you'll get a better personal assistant than anything Apple, Google or Amazon ever released. The magic really is 1) SOTA LLMs that are good at understanding what you mean, and 2) no commercial bullshit that's degrading functionality (like having to say brand names to do stuff).

drusepth 2y ago

It's convenience. I have a device in my kitchen that's hands-free, can set timers, show recipes, etc, that's always there when I'm cooking. I don't usually have my phone on me, but even if I did I need to at least unlock it to enable voice commands, which instantly kills any notion of it being truly hands-free.

kemitche 2y ago

Here's a few dozen use cases based on my own use of smart home devices: - Hands are full or dirty while cooking. Voice activation is more convenient. True for not just timers, but every other aspect - music playing, controlling home devices like lights, watching something on YouTube, etc. - The above also applies to any case where my hands can't readily access my phone, such as wanting to listen/change music when showering. - As the other commenter said, sometimes the timer needs to be "room-specific" rather than on my phone (which stays with me) - The device has a decent speaker, so makes a convenient Spotify device. The voice activation is sufficient, though I can also control the device via Spotify on my phone if there's occasional blips. - Combined with smart light switches, I have convenient control over various aspects of lighting in my home - Combined with Chromecast / Google TV, it provides voice activated access to pause/play/change what I'm watching. - Basic internet queries, such as how long it will take to drive somewhere or when a certain place will close, work well also. None of these use cases _individually_ is so amazing I'd spend $100+, but the combined total value is great for me.

dangus 2y ago
Smart speakers just don't solve a problem. Period. - Don't need to control home devices or watch shit while you're cooking. If I really want to queue up a video I just do that before I start cooking. - Don't need music while showering, who cares, showering takes 5 minutes - Again just like "oh it's for music" - Yes I like controlling smart lights but I can just hold the power button on my phone and tell it what to do instead of bothering with a speaker in every room - I just put the remote nearby? or use the remote on the phone? What's so hard about pausing TV with a phone/TV remote? - Basic internet queries, a.k.a., the smartphone I always have on me
- miohtama 2y ago
  We build the most sophisticated AI in the world to open Spotify app instead of pressing Play on a phone
  - dangus 2y ago

taco_emoji 2y ago

This is so disingenuous. Echos are nowhere near $100 at the baseline, no one is buying it JUST for the timer, and no one finds setting a phone "excruciatingly difficult". Calm down.

Underphil 2y ago

On the rare occasions I watch TV, I'm incredulous at the adverts for technology that create these almost utopian looking lifestyles. I think to myself "who is taken in by this?". As it turns out, these are the people who are taken in by it.

dboreham 2y ago

Massive lack of insight. The lady in the box on the kitchen counter is a "groupware timer". The timer on my watch is of no use to my wife in knowing when to turn off the oven when I'm in the bathroom.

Marsymars 2y ago
The Echo Clock is really excellent in my kitchen - anyone in the kitchen can visually see how much time is left on multiple timers. I'd switch to a comparable Siri or Home Assistant clock if such a product was available.

kyleee 2y ago

Obviously nobody finds it excruciatingly difficult, but you have a severe lack of empathy and imagination if you can’t see the utility here. Timers while cooking (hands dirty and/or full), measurements while woodworking/crafting/making, etc. and more as detailed thoroughly in other comments

skydhash 2y ago

I set time on my phone by voice (which is the only thing I use Siri for), because it's way quicker to say "5 minutes" than to try to set it through the app even with shortcut. But I have a kitchen timer (big, fat buttons and big digits) which I prefer to use in the kitchen because it's distinctly loud. My homepods are mostly for music.