Curious what products looked amazing on paper and in reviews, but disappointed in real daily use.
Ask HN: What tech purchase did you regret even though reviews were great?
1–10 of 156 posts
Re: Ask HN: What tech purchase did you regret even though reviews were great?
#2Diskless game systems. You run out of space quickly and you can’t sell / trade / loan your games.
Not necessarily regret but the Apple Watches have such crap battery.
Re: Ask HN: What tech purchase did you regret even though reviews were great?
#3Apple Watch. I'm not even sure when I last wore it, but it was at least 18 months ago.
Slighly laggy remote control for my phone, with widgets a little too small for my finger to reliably hit.
When I do proper long walks, the battery reliably dies on me during the walk.
Re: Ask HN: What tech purchase did you regret even though reviews were great?
#4SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro headset. Microphone quality is just worse than it should be for the $320 I paid, and the battery doesn’t last as long as I hoped. This was after reading many reviews.
Re: Ask HN: What tech purchase did you regret even though reviews were great?
#5Diskless game systems. You run out of space quickly and you can’t sell / trade / loan your games. Not necessarily regret but the Apple Watches have such crap battery.
The diskless systems point is a good one — the convenience is real, but the loss of resale, lending, and long-term ownership adds up more than reviews usually acknowledge.
Do you think that trade-off was obvious at purchase time, or did it only start to feel painful once storage filled up and the library grew?
On the Apple Watch side, was the battery issue something you noticed early, or did it become frustrating over time as usage increased?
Re: Ask HN: What tech purchase did you regret even though reviews were great?
#6Apple Watch. I'm not even sure when I last wore it, but it was at least 18 months ago. Slighly laggy remote control for my phone, with widgets a little too small for my finger to reliably hit. When I do proper long walks, the battery reliably dies on me during the walk.
I cannot agree more. The battery not even lasting a day is what prevents me from using it. When I want to go for a run with it, it's always out of battery.
Re: Ask HN: What tech purchase did you regret even though reviews were great?
#7Digital only console.
Disc games are cheaper on sales + has actual resale value.
Re: Ask HN: What tech purchase did you regret even though reviews were great?
#8ModRetro Chromatic, great handheld game system but didn't know I helped fund a military arms dealer that will maim and kill innocents with autonomous systems. :(
Re: Ask HN: What tech purchase did you regret even though reviews were great?
#9Aeron chair - nothing special, could have done with a 10x cheaper ikea chair
Re: Ask HN: What tech purchase did you regret even though reviews were great?
#10Quest 2, I still think it's great but I got unlucky and bought it at the time of the increased price, a few months before it went back down and then even more down a year or two after. Admittedly my own fault but still regretful due to the fact I could've saved over a hundred $ had I waited.