A no-brainer. Just have to consider them expendable at this point.
Relevance: I use cheap android smartphones as light switches for smart bulbs, hue etc. An old LG phone died, and is simply being replaced.
I had no idea you could do this with phone gadgets…
It’s done by adding a “dashboard“ app to the phone. You’re not actually replacing a light switch with the phone. You are using the phone to support an app which then controls your smart switches.
For a recent discussion of some of these, see the following thread:
FAQ: Sharptools , actiontiles or native ST app for your wall panel? (2020)
Do you have them wall mounted? Or perhaps on a stand or laying on a table like a remote control?
I love the idea of a sleek display that takes up the space of just a single spot where a light switch would have gone (especially in a bank of switches), but haven’t seen anything off-the-shelf to support that - seems most things are custom. There’s a few things for iPod Touch but nothing sleek enough where it just blends in with the existing wall switches… at which point I end up just considering a wall mounted tablet.
As @JDRoberts mentioned, one approach is using a dashboard like SharpTools.io on the phone - I’m the lead developer of SharpTools dashboards, so feel free to PM me or tag me if you have any questions about SharpTools!
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Josh, sorry I never got round to replying. Oct 2020 was a crazy time in my industry, and it’s only now that I’m getting back to this stuff.
I’ve used android tablets and phones for this. My android tablets that I had doing this job ceased functioning, so I’ve moved to phones. They are small, they are cheap, they work. Simple Command Strip mounting next to doors, with the power cable running inside door molding. Or like the iPhone image posted by JD, mounted at a switch plate.
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