New Design Trend: People Downgrading 'Smart' Homes to Analog 'Dumb' Homes, Some with Landlines and Offline Appliances (axios.com)
- Reference: 0179936192
- News link: https://mobile.slashdot.org/story/25/11/02/067245/new-design-trend-people-downgrading-smart-homes-to-analog-dumb-homes-some-with-landlines-and-offline-appliances
- Source link: https://www.axios.com/2025/11/01/smart-home-analog-design
> Some are swapping NASA-style setups for old-fashioned buttons, switches and knobs. Others are designing digital detox corners — all part of a bigger " [2]analog wellness " movement...
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> The return to analog [3]hobbies and [4]spaces is about more than nostalgia for pre-internet times, researchers say. A home where "technology is always in the background, working and listening, feels anxiety-producing" instead of restorative, architect Yan M. Wang tells Axios... Design media brand Dwell [5]named the decline of smart homes a top trend for 2025 and beyond.
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> Wealthy Los Angeles house hunters have started [6]shunning WiFi-enabled, voice-activated appliances "to escape the $100 billion home-automation industry," according to the Hollywood Reporter. Meanwhile, landlines have found new fans — many of them parents who want to keep their kids off [7]screens , the Washington Post [8]reports .
[1] https://www.axios.com/2025/11/01/smart-home-analog-design
[2] https://www.axios.com/2025/10/23/analog-bag-screen-free-wellness
[3] https://www.axios.com/2025/09/28/mahjong-teacher-lesson
[4] https://www.axios.com/local/washington-dc/2025/09/10/restaurant-phone-ban-hush-harbor-dc
[5] https://www.dwell.com/article/2025-home-design-trends-e638db19
[6] https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lifestyle/real-estate/tech-free-homes-luxury-trend-1236177909/
[7] https://www.axios.com/2025/03/27/screen-time-mental-health-kids
[8] https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2025/09/30/the-landline-is-back/
Re: (Score:2)
From TFA: "...Wealthy Los Angeles house hunters", Probably not food-stamp recipients.
is it "the decline of smart homes" (Score:2)
Or little to no ROI or purpose for having smart homes/appliances
Re: (Score:2)
While I think they are overkill for most, if you are disabled and/or elderly, then those whizzy appliances can come in handy.
Re: (Score:2)
Internet connected appliances and smart homes are not even the same thing. It's not even clear what a smart home is. Maybe you'd like to automate some lights, but you don't need your dishwasher to know your WiFi password for that.
analog? (Score:2)
Love how no one seems to know what "analog" means anymore.
Thanks for the link to a paywalled article, EditorDavid. Whatever they pay you is too much.
Users of landlines to replace cellphones for kids are the same as home schoolers, they are extremists raising the next generation of antisocial terrorists.
It's not the "smart" I'm concerned about.... (Score:3)
It's the 24/7 data mining from the providers of those devices. I have enabled a number of "smart devices" in my home, but I won't use anything that requires internet connectivity to function.
HomeAssistant has been great to get the benefits of home automation using a raspberry pi class device to manage it all and store my data locally without sharing the details of my life with 3rd parties or paying ongoing subscription fees.
[1]https://www.home-assistant.io/ [home-assistant.io]
[1] https://www.home-assistant.io/
You do you. (Score:2)
I mean vinyl is still a thing; lots of people still like live theater; some cars are still made with foot activated physical clutches and manual shifters; none electric wood working tool still exist, and physical books are not yet uncommon. Some things don’t go away, even if more advanced forms exist; because they are perfectly good as they are. Retro will always have its fans. There will always be a niche for things like that. Personally I like modern connected technology. I also like to get away f
Re: (Score:2)
I wish you would do paragraph spacing.
Offline Appliances (Score:2)
I won't buy an online Appliance if I can help it.