Smart devices are fine - it usually just means remote control or status. Plenty of use in that.

The problem is that no one can be arsed to buy a local hub and figure out how to connect it, so every company just builds an app and makes it cloud connected. That way they can farm your stupidity.

It’s not hard to make a device that works locally (it’s way easier than making a cloud service) but it’s far less lucrative.

That being said if I bought a $2000 mattress cover and it didn’t work offline I’d have gotten my fucking money back.