Hey,

It’s Pete Matheson with a new issue of Experiments in Progress.

This week is about hype, what’s genuinely useful, what’s optional, and what’s mostly good marketing.

Inside:

Let’s dive in👇

A lot of these are genuinely good products.

But they’re often marketed like they’re essential like your life will noticeably improve the second you buy them.

For most people, that’s just not true.

Here’s what I think is overhyped right now.

The hardware is incredible but it’s insanely expensive. There aren’t many apps built properly for it. There aren’t really any compelling games. And there’s no obvious “you need this” use case yet.

It’s great for content. It’s interesting for work. But there’s no real reason most people should buy one right now.

When it makes sense:
If you’re developing for it or you just want to experience the cutting edge.

Tesla makes good cars.

But Full Self-Driving has been “almost ready” for about a decade. In the UK, it’s still not available in the way it’s marketed. In some parts of the US, sure but the hype has massively outpaced reality.

There’s a lot of promise baked into the price.

When it makes sense:
If you like the car for what it is today not what it might become.

I genuinely don’t get the obsession.

Outside the US, most people just use WhatsApp. It works everywhere. It’s simple.

Yes, if you turn on Advanced Data Protection, iMessage is extremely secure. But the whole blue vs green bubble culture feels more like status than utility.

I barely use the Messages app at all.

When it makes sense:
If you’re fully in Apple’s ecosystem and care about that level of encryption.

The data is impressive.

But most people don’t wake up and think, “Let me check my readiness score before deciding how I feel.”

You already know how you slept.

For a lot of people, it becomes an expensive passive tracker.

When it makes sense:
If you genuinely review the data and change behaviour based on it.

It’s very good. The recovery insights are strong. But you have to actually use the data.

Most people I know stop checking strain and recovery after a few months.

When it makes sense:
If you train seriously and actually adjust your workouts based on recovery.

They’re useful but they’re often sold as productivity tools that will transform your day.

For many people, they just become another notification screen.

When it makes sense:
If you’re using it primarily for fitness or quick interactions not as a “life hack.”

This one’s interesting.

It’s expensive and heavily marketed. But temperature genuinely affects sleep, and for some people this does make a real difference.

The hype is big but at least the mechanism makes sense.

When it makes sense:
If temperature is the main thing disrupting your sleep.

Bluetooth toothbrushes.
App-connected screwdrivers.
Smart kitchen tools that need firmware updates.

Not everything needs an app.

We’ve hit the point where connectivity is added because it can be not because it improves the experience.

When it makes sense:
If the app actually adds something meaningful.

Smart blinds, smart appliances, smart everything.

They look great in demos. In real life, they add complexity and extra failure points.

Sometimes a switch works just fine.

Anything positioned as “the future of computing” or “the next revolution.”

Version one is rarely the one most people should buy.

You’re paying to experiment (which is fine) but that’s what it is.

When it makes sense:
If you like being early and don’t mind paying the premium.

Most overhyped purchases fall into one category: They sell potential as present-day necessity.

If you love tech and experimenting, that’s fine.

But for most people, most of this stuff is optional.

📱 Enjoying this newsletter? Share it with a friend who’s as obsessed with tech as you are:

OpenAI has introduced its first AI model capable of generating and refining code in real time meaning developers can now iterate with AI almost instantly, rather than waiting on slower responses.

If this works well, it shifts AI from a productivity add-on to something closer to an integrated development layer.

The upcoming Nothing Phone 4a Pro has appeared on Geekbench, revealing a Snapdragon chip under the hood ahead of its official launch.

Nothing has mastered the art of hype cycles: controlled reveals, benchmark appearances, subtle spec confirmations.

For years, I tried to optimize everything: my workflow, my workouts, my downtime.

But recently, I started deliberately not optimizing certain parts of my life.

And oddly enough… things got better.

🗓️ See you Thursday.