Sonos speakers. I got a big system during COVID and it got me through isolation. But then they decided to redo the app and the new one is terrible (not that the old one was ever great; software is not their strength). It's still a buggy mess to this day. Some of the hardware died too, and they don't offer repairs. Their customer service sucks too. You can't email them anymore and you have to wait hours on the phone.

I went from loyal supporter to wanting to get rid of the whole system. Buyer beware. Company has really gone downhill. I wish they'd fire the CEO.

Level smart lock. I have a handful of issues with it, but the big one is that it falls in the category of "tech product never tested outside of California" because the thing just does not work outside of the Goldilocks days where it's not too hot, cold, humid, or dry (for me, it works maybe half the time during the summer, and never during the winter). To hardware product designers: capacitive touch sensing is not reliable in the cold.

I have spent thousands on the cool noise cancelling bluetooth headsets. Each of them is garbage. (I just kept buying them, hoping that at least one of them is not only hyped, but have some substance also)

Also, just broke a cheap Hama mouse into pieces, literally today. It was only like ~$5, but the worst piece of trash I have had: it turns off after 2 minutes of inactivity, and on top of that it can't wake up always... (well, couldn't wake up. It's in the mouse-heaven now)

Wetek Play2 Android based TV box.

My first and last experience with an Android based TV device.

Since 2018 or so, I've been using a small Windows PC with a Hauppauge WinTV Dual USB tuner (ATSC, watch as you record a different channel in the backgroud) and DVBViewer software. Use a web browser for streaming.

https://www.dvbviewer.com/en/index.php

iMac 2010, I think all-in-one computer is a bad idea in general, because the cpu/mem/gpu age quicker than the monitor.

lenovo thinkpad, used as a linux notebook, but the trackpad is difficult to use under linux.

I tried buying a monitor direct from a Chinese company (Innocn). It broke within 8 months. They never listed a warranty, but I (stupidly) assumed it was at least a year; but no, it was 6 months. After having such a bad experience, I went looking and apparently was not the only one. Many others had their monitors die and the company would purposefully drag out the RMA process past the warranty period.

Long story short, warranties still matter, and it should be a big part of any expensive purchase decision.

"gaming" chair. Should have gotten a normal office chair

Apple MacBook Air 2020, intel edition. Such a piece of junk and shame on Apple for releasing it knowing that they’d have launched the M1 in just a few months. Maximum corporate greed.

Those throwback re-releases of Sega or Atari consoles with a bunch of games built into them. They're fun for the first few hours and they work well, but they end up collecting dust. Turns out those games aren't as fun as they were when I was a kid and didn't have many options for gaming.

Bought a cheap power drill, like "I can't believe how cheap this thing is". It broke after 15 minute of usage.

GoPro Hero 5

A TCL TV. It broke exactly after the warranty expired (led issues). I was planning to replace the leds, then discovered that the screen is glued to the frame. I gave up in disgust.

Most of the headphones I've bought have broken within a few years. It's not a "huge" regret though.

Big USB hubs. I have like a few ports and swap things when I need to charge them.