-
Cost. Wink has the wall switch “relay” touchscreen controller for $300 (now $199… http://www.amazon.com/Wink-Relay-Smart-Home-Controller/dp/B00MU6GLT6), but SmartThings needed to minimize costs and pricing at launch. Oomi’s base crowdfunding price with their “Oomi Touch” is much higher as well.
-
Cost. SmartThings had to develop a mobile App and may have even realized that a dashboard / wall controller App should have a different software design.
-
Cost. UL certified / listed hardware for a custom wall switch with several buttons – in ZigBee – with a local relay so as not to lose the functionality of the lightswitch it replaces is costly.
Overall: SmartThings decided to “cheap out” and claim that wall controllers are obsolete, as an excuse to avoid the cost and associated risks.
But the “argument” continues…