CES 2024: experts name the worst inventions that have been presented

For the third consecutive year, the mediaiFixitWepresents its Worst In Show, which lists the worst inventions ofCESin several categories. This year, the categories concerned are, among others, safety, environmental impact, repairability, as well as respect for privacy.

How and according to what criteria does iFixit select the nominees?

In order to designate the companies that presented the worst innovations,iFixitcalls on an expert for each category. The latter studied the candidates through five questions allowing them to know whether or not the candidates can claim the title of worst innovation of theCES 2024.

Here are the five questions that were studied:

“How bad is this product?”
Are the problems inherent in this gadget innovative?
What would be the global impact if this technology is popularized?
How much worse is this product than previous devices with similar technology?
To what extent do the negative aspects outweigh the positive aspects? »

This year's innovations seem to have particularly worried experts, particularly with regard to the normalization of non-respect for privacy, security, as well as dispensable overconsumption.

Nominees by category

Thecategory “who asked?” »is won by an AI-powered shopping cart. Its particularity is that it displays ads while you do your shopping.

BMW and Amazonpick upthe title of the worst privacy tool. The expert who awarded this title justifies it by the fact that a fully connected car responding remotely could, for example, constitute an aggravating factor in domestic violence. According to the director ofl’Electronic Frontier FoundationCindy Cohen, this technology could, for example, prevent a woman suffering from domestic violence from fleeing.

The award for worst personal safety tool goes to Ecovac DEEbot X2. It's a smart vacuum cleaner using AI. The latter is criticized for its weak security measures, but also for storing unencrypted user data.

Revolution Cooking wins the award for worst appliance for the environment. It is an infrared connected cooking appliance, intended to replace traditional ovens and microwaves. It is criticized for the quantity “excessive» of electronics he uses.

The award for worst device for repairability goes to Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 headphones. These are wireless headphones with built-in, non-replaceable batteries. They are singled out for their short lifespan, as well as the lack of a solution to repair them.

To finish,XREAL Air 2 in-car augmented reality headset wins title of 'device most likely to cause enshitifcation'. The latter term refers to something initially designed to be useful or enjoyable, but which gradually becomes more annoying, less functional, or even more invasive as time passes.

Here is the summary video of this rather special awards ceremony, in order to learn in detail the designated objects, as well as the arguments of the experts.

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