The amount of work I've had to put in to claw back a modicum of privacy from the relatively small number of smart things in my house is absurd. 100% agree that there's no way a casual user would know where to start.

But the older I get, the less interest I have in smart things. Thermostat, air filters, the snow melting cables and that's about it. Why do I need a light show to announce my arrival or set the mood to watch a movie... I can click the light switch.

I'm sure there are plenty of accessibility use cases for it, but I feel the most of it is just a gimmick.