Published Apr 29, 2026, 8:00 AM EDT

I’ve been covering Android since 2022, when I joined Android Police, mostly focusing on AI and everything around Pixel and Galaxy phones. I’ve got a bachelor’s in IT with a major in AI, so I naturally view technology differently. I usually take a pro-consumer angle instead of the marketing hype, which you’ve probably noticed in my writing.

A smart home is not cheap to build, and it gets even more expensive when you’re replacing puffed-up batteries every two years.

When something fails, it’s easy to point at the manufacturer and call it planned obsolescence or bad assembly. Sometimes that’s fair.…