…with the eventual intent of selling a subscription for the valuable features.
Buy a top of the line Bosch dishwasher for only $200. And pay $15.00 for the rest of its life to be able to use anything more than the “eco-quick” wash which doesn’t clean anything because it only has one wash and one rinse cycle.
I would assume Bosch knows how blatant paywalling features looks and will backfire just like it did for BMW.
I am guessing Bosch wants to create a Bosch ecosystem where you can control all your home appliances with a single app. This is what PC OEMs did with RGB software. It's not really for surveillance although they do use it to push ads/premium features. The main intent is to lock you into their ecosystem and then you only buy products from them. Samsung & Apple do this are well known for this, and that's what they're emulating.
It might sound weird but my dishwasher is the only appliance which I think was worth putting on the internet for me. Dont' get me wrong, the functions need to work regardless of Wifi or not! I really like the notifications I get from my dishwasher. It sends when it is done or needs some maintenance.
Edit: Just to clarify: I fully agree with Jeffs conclusion!