Smart Batteries and App-Connected Tools: Worth It

The connected feature that matters is not the one in the commercial.

By Joshua CoatesPublished August 5, 20263 min read

From the Field Notes Archive: January 2024 (Field Notes Year One). The archive date is editorial and places this piece in the notebook. It is not a claim that the page existed online then.

Connected tools have been on shelves long enough that the novelty has worn off and the real use cases have sorted themselves out. They are narrower than the marketing suggests, and more useful than skeptics expect, just for a smaller group of people.

What the features actually are

Inventory and last known location. The tool broadcasts a low-power wireless signal. When a phone running the manufacturer app comes within range, the app records where and when it saw that tool. For someone managing dozens of tools across multiple sites, this turns "where did the trim saw end up" into a lookup instead of a phone tree.

Remote lockout. A registered tool can be disabled so it will not run until it is re-enabled. It does not prevent a tool from being taken. It makes a taken tool less useful and less sellable.

Custom modes. Speed and torque profiles saved to the tool. On an impact driver, a mode that eases off after seating a fastener. On a drill, a lower speed ceiling for a specific repetitive operation.

Usage and fault reporting. Trigger hours, fault codes and battery cycle counts. Useful for maintenance planning on a fleet, mostly trivia for one person.

Who benefits

The value scales with the number of tools and the number of people touching them.

A crew running three sites, with tools moving in trucks and shared between people, gets real return. Fewer tools lost, faster answers, some deterrence, and a maintenance record that is not somebody's memory.

A solo tradesperson with a dozen tools that live in the same van gets less. You already know where everything is, because you put it there.

A homeowner with four tools in a garage gets essentially nothing from the connected side. That is not a criticism of the technology; it is just not the problem they have.

The custom modes exception

There is one feature that earns its keep even for a single user, and it is the one that gets the least attention. If you do the same repetitive fastening task hundreds of times, being able to dial in a speed and shutoff behavior and save it to the tool improves consistency and reduces damaged work. Cabinet installers, deck builders, and anybody driving self-tapping fasteners into metal notice this. Most other users set it once and never open the app again.

Practical cautions

Software has a lifespan. A tool bought today will likely outlive the current version of its app. Buy the tool because the tool is good. Treat connectivity as a bonus that may not be supported in a decade.

Pairing is a chore at scale. Registering a large fleet takes real time up front. Worth planning for rather than discovering.

Account ownership matters. Tools registered to an employee's personal account create a problem the day that employee leaves. Fleet accounts exist for this reason.

Battery drain is minimal but not zero. The radio is low power and the effect on runtime is negligible in practice.

The honest recommendation

Choose the tool on the tool. Motor, ergonomics, availability of batteries, and price. If two tools are close and one is connected, take the connected one. Do not pay a meaningful premium for connectivity unless you are managing a fleet, in which case the tracking and lockout probably pay for themselves the first time a tool does not disappear.

And if you buy a connected tool and never open the app, nothing is lost. It is still a good tool that runs the way it did out of the box.

Questions people actually ask

Do connected tools work without the app?

Yes. Connected features layer on top of a tool that still runs normally on its own factory settings. The app adds tracking, customization, and reporting rather than basic operation.

Does tool tracking work like a GPS tracker?

Most systems use short-range wireless and update a tool's last known location when a phone running the app comes near it. That helps find a tool on a large site or across a fleet, but it is not continuous satellite tracking.

Is remote lockout useful for theft?

It reduces the resale value of a stolen tool and can deter opportunistic theft, but it does not physically protect anything. It works best combined with normal storage and site security.