Petnet Smartfeeder 2.0 (Second Generation) Review

I've read this is supposed to come out this winter, but it looks like they are offering it now. 

1. Upgrade

Totally upgraded our first gen Petnet Smartfeeder since this one had some upgrades and improved on the older model. 

• Better food compatibility of all different shapes and sizes
• A different type of lid that should be near impossible for your pet to break into.
• Support for Alexa and Google Assistant. 
• Food Container lock improvements
• Better portion wheel to improve the amount of food that gets dispensed. 
• A shorter design compared to the previous model.
• Easier to remove food container and dishwasher-safe bowl
• Easier wifi/bluetooth connectivity (No more placing your phone on that odd flashing sensor on the food bowl)
• Probably more improvements and stuff

The packaging for the feeder looks a bit more low budget than the previous retail box of the first generation. Probably went this route to save on costs. 

However, everything was neatly packaged and the instructions were clear. 

2. Old vs New Comparison

Here you can see the height differences as well as the different designs of the bowls and lids. I definitely like the new lid design as it's now flush with the rest of the device making it a bit more visually appealing.

The logo and branding are also designed slightly different. Even the braided USB charging cable is a bit thinner on the new Smartfeeder compared to the old. 

3. Usage

Had a little speed bump with the initial setup since I was on the 5GHz band as opposed to the 2.4GHz band which the smartfeeder supports. It wouldn't recognize and setup the device through the Android app till I connected to the 2.4GHz wifi that was broadcasting. 

Once the setup completed, it was pretty nice since it retained all my automatic feeding schedules and didn't erase them upon changing to a new device. 

Personally, I disable the manual feeding button in the front since my curious blind Bengal cat like to push everything with her nose. This can be disabled through the app. 

Also I'm not too sure why I can't add more than one pet in the app? I think that's a bit of an oversight as most people I know have more than one pet. Both of my monsters are total opposites, one is crazy active and the other is more chill. Being able to set a profile for each cat would make more sense.

Or maybe it's Petnet's way of saying I need to purchase two Smartfeeders, one for each cat!

4. Unboxing Photos

Even with the slight redesign, I don't think Petnet accounted for blind cats to endlessly poke and prod at the device. 🙂

5. What I Like

Despite everything, the Petnet Smartfeeder has changed the way we feed our cat. We still feed both our Bengals manually twice a day. Also, the reason why we initially got the automated feeder was because of our schedules. We noticed that the 2x a day feeding we had our cats on just wasn't working out for them.

By the time we'd feed them, they would either eat too fast and occasionally throw up some of their food. Now this could likely be something else altogether, and I did inform my vet about it, but automatically scheduling small snacks in between their main feedings pretty much eliminated the throw up behavior.

The mechanical feeding sound the Smartfeeder makes is great for us since our blind Bengal relies on sound, it makes it easier for her to find the device. 

6. What I Don't Like

My dislikes aren't nearly enough for me to stop using the product as it's become an invaluable tool for us. However, I do hope they add the ability to add more than one pet in the app.

Also, I know I'm the minority here with a blind cat but perhaps they can come up with a design that's blind cat/dog proof. Don't really have any suggestions for how they'd do that so I'll leave it up to the people smarter than me that could figure that out. 🙂

I haven't had the unit for long enough to find any other issues. I'll update this post with any more that I find over time. 

7. Wishlist

These are the few things that I hope Petnet improves/add in a future revision.

• Integrated Front Camera (Less likely and the more expensive option but an option nevertheless)
• Rubberized padding underneath the unit (Removes the device from sliding around on tile and the need for a feeding place mat)
• The ability to add more than one pet on the app.
• USB-C for the charging cable. (It's a pain in the butt to find the micro-usb plug stored at the bottom center of the unit. USB-C would have solved this annoying issue)

8. Would I Recommend?

In my opinion, this is a definite MUST HAVE! All around the smartfeeder is fantastic. It performs well with what it was designed for. Can't wait to see what they'd come out with next.