Each year, the big Las Vegas show is an opportunity to discover countless tech innovations… for better or for worse. The “Worst in Show”, organized by several American associations, but also repair specialists, selects the worst. Here is his verdict.
the Worst in Show, or the “worst in the living room”. In response to the deluge of more or less useful and innovative products presented each year at CES in Las Vegas, a group of companies and associations have got into the habit of taking the high mass of tech from the back. On the occasion of a somewhat special award ceremony, each year it knocks down the innovations “invading our privacy, trashing the planet and, frankly, shouldn’t exist” writes Lucas Gutterman, campaign manager at PIRG, a consumer advocacy group in the United States.
This diverse team, which also includes iFixit repair specialists, theElectronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) or the association Consumer Reports, recently delivered its verdict on the 2023 edition. Here are the worst products of the show, with supporting arguments from the jury.
Withings U-Scan, the French product pilloried
Cocorico (or not): a product “made in France” stands out twice in this selection. This is the U-Scan, from Withings. American experts do not dispute the technical qualities of the device, designed to be placed in your toilet in order to analyze your urine and generate health data. However, they pose a completely legitimate question: that of respect for your private life, here all the more sensitive as the product can be used to monitor the menstrual cycle. A particularly sensitive subject across the Atlantic since the end of federal protection of the right to abortion.
Cindy Cohn, lawyer and executive director of the EFF thus stormed against “this product that tells you nothing about what it will do with the data it will collect”, while specifying that the U-Scan has not yet been authorized for sale in the United States, and that Withings still has time to improve its copy. Cindy Cohn goes further: Haven’t they heard of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, a decision that paved the way, in several American states, for legal proceedings for women who wish to have an abortion? […] There were plenty of problematic products at CES this year, but this is one that could land you in jail.”
The load is severe. So much so that the U-Scan even won the award for worst product at CES, all categories combined. We reached out to Withings for a reaction, but the company declined to comment.
Displace, a battery-powered TV that unnecessarily rots the environment
Here is a product which – if nothing else, no doubt – caused a lot of talk during the show. DisplaceTV is a 55 inch 4K TV “completely wireless” and for good reason: it incorporates four removable Lithium Ion batteries, which offer, according to its manufacturer, 30 days of autonomy at the rate of 6 hours of viewing per day. You can thus move your screen at will, and fix it to any wall by a suction system, which also works thanks to the integrated batteries.
It remains to be seen if all this is really useful. Do you really need to move your TV regularly? Is the power cable really so unsightly that it justifies buying a TV without any cables? Nothing is less sure. For Shanika Whitehurst of Consumer Reports, who awarded the prize for “environmental impact” to this invention of relative utility, it is even heresy: “ you will have to extract batteries, which required the mining of rare ores, then charge them, then put them back… The real question is why market such a product, when a power outlet would have been enough to power this television ? » she reminded. Before driving the point home by explaining that the wall mounting system is also based on these batteries. If this TV runs out of juice, it will therefore crash to the ground, and risk breakage.
Ember Mug 2,+, a superfluous and irreparable product
Phew, the “all connected” fashion, which consisted of adding a Bluetooth module, a few sensors and a battery to objects, has gone a bit. But some manufacturers are still continuing down this path, with products that the planet would gladly do without. Like the Ember Mug 2+, a new version of this $200 “intelligent mug”, presented this year in the aisles of the show. What’s the point ? Hold on tight: keep your coffee or tea… warm. For this, it obviously needs a battery and some electronic circuits. The only innovation in this version: compatibility with Apple’s “Locate” function.
A product atomized with gluttony by Kyle Weins, boss and co-founder of iFixit: “The problem is, you don’t need an electronic device to keep your coffee hot. There are already some great products – thermal insulated mugs, thermoses – that have been around for ages. »
But the Ember Mug 2+ is not only polluting, expensive and useless: it is also irreparable, or almost. ” They could have easily designed the product to facilitate battery replacement. But no. We had to use a saw to disassemble the first version of the Ember Mug! », recalls the boss of iFixit. He specifies that the company has no desire to fix things: “ if you send them an email asking how to replace the battery, they will reply with a discount coupon to buy a new irreparable mug”. “It’s a product that shouldn’t exist, that we don’t need, and that harms the planet,” he summarized.
Roku’s “smart” TVs, a security disaster in the making?
Roku is a little known brand in France, but famous in the United States for its television streaming terminals. At CES, Roku took a new step this year by launching connected televisions, equipped with its “home” OS (Roku OS). Bad news, according to Paul Roberts, founder of the SecuRepairs association, which brings together cybersecurity professionals who defend the right to repair in the United States. Because Roku is not renowned for its computer security policy, it is the least we can say: no program of bug bounty is accessible to researchers, and the company seems to care little about the vulnerabilities that inevitably affect its platform. ” Just for comparison, Apple has registered 1300 vulnerabilities for tvOS since its launch in 2013. Roku, only one! explained Paul Roberts. But he had to do it: it was a jailbreak released early last yearallowing you to obtain “root” access to most of your devices. “A year later, I looked, and it’s hard to say if Roku has made any effort to close this loophole. […] And let me tell you: when it comes to cybersecurity, not having news is not good news.”
Neutrogena SkinStacks, the WTF product no one ever asked for
” Why settle for selling vitamins when you can also create proprietary refills and collect biometric data en masse? ? Here’s how Nathan Proctor, Campaign Director at PIRG, introduces Neutrogena’s new product, presented at CES 2020. “Skinstacks” are small “3D-printed” chewing gummies stuffed with dietary supplements. To obtain it – against the tidy sum of 50 dollars per month – you will first have to carry out a complete scan of your face, through a smartphone application. An analysis supposed to be sufficient to then advise you on a mix of ideal food supplements to firm up or rejuvenate your skin. It is permissible to doubt the relevance of this test, and to wonder where our personal data will end up. ” It’s a real performance: this product is so ridiculous that it manages to stand out in a market (that of food supplements, editor’s note) already known for its scams » concluded, hilarious, Nathan Proctor.
JBL Tour Pro 2, irreparable headphones, of dubious interest
Last product distinguished, this time by the votes of Internet users on social networks: the JBL Tour Pro 2, these headphones true-wireless which try to distinguish themselves from dozens of other products on the market by a screen on the case. This 1.5 inch touch screen allows, of course, to access certain settings without going through your smartphone. But according to the famous Youtuber JerryRigEverythingit is especially “an additional expensive item that can break, when we already have phones and watches that do the exact same thing “.
Worst In Show 2023
