I guess the logical follow up to my original question would be to ask if SmartThings feels like they are honestly executing well toward whatever vision they do have. My biggest hope is that they have a very ambitious vision and feel like they are currently only doing an OK job of realizing that vision. I hope they see the current state of the SmartThings platform and current SmartApps paradigm as a stepping stone toward something much better and more accessible, but that growth and scaling issues have prevented significant progress toward that. If that isnât the case, and the lack of an ambitious vision shared amongst the SmartThings team about where home automation could go is the reality, then I am a lot less excited as a user and as a developer about SmartThings.
I personally do have a vision for where all of this could go. I wonât go into it here because the SmartThings vision doesnât need to be the same as mine, there are a lot of potential right ways to get there.
tgauchat
(ActionTiles.com co-founder Terry @ActionTiles; GitHub: @cosmicpuppy)
22
Honest answers already given by them many times: âObviously not, but weâre still optimistic and determined.â; i.e., they know they are far behind where they had âenvisionedâ theyâd be, but nobody has given up.
See above bullet. Obviously their answer is exactly what you wrote.
You are more than fully aware of what their vision is and what their internal thinking is. And they arenât shy about saying exactly what you want them to say: âgrowth and scaling issues âŚâ â they have said exactly these words month after month after month. And I believe that most SmartThings employees fully, honestly, believe this. And itâs probably TRUE.
If there is some contrary vision ⌠hypothetically, ummm, âthe company is just a laboratory for Samsung that will be shutdown if it doesnât get tractionâ ⌠theyâll never say it publicly â not even to their own employees. That info would be director level and above only.
Really feel like there is a bunch of trolls who comment on any thread about âissuesâ. Iâm cool with there being detractors, but i should point out that i doubted I would have the ability to achieve automation beyond âalexa turn on X lightâ but i hoped to get that far, and not only have I done that, but iâve learned how to add community developed smart apps and a lot of other stuff too. Dont be so negative. Smartthings greatest obstacle to widespread adoption isnt making YOU happy, itâs educating the public towards a bundle sale of the right devices. If everybody who got a ST Hub also got a connected thermostat, echo, and a complete household lightswitch renovation. The experience alone would sell itself. With or without buggy features and broken promises.
Scheduling may be broken and that sucks, but the experience is still amazing compared to nothing, and it IS easy to use.
What exactly do you expect SmartThings share here, in the community forum, that has not already been shared via much larger media venues? Whatever vision SmartThings had prior to acquisition is irrelevant. Since theâve been acquired, their vision has been aligned with Samsungâs SmartHome vision, which has been all over the Internet and the tech news for a couple of years now. See for example:
Itâs the first big step in Samsungâs radical vision for a future where every appliance, screen, and gadget we own connects to the internet and talks to each other. And the people behind SmartThings have a pretty good pitch for how that vision could and should become a reality.
I donât think Iâve seen or heard anything from SmartThings in terms of a vision for UI/UX that goes beyond what SmartApps are currently capable of. Their smart lighting app and home monitor solution look like attempts at something better, but working within their current SmartApp constraints. And because they are working within the current SmartApp constraints, they are clunky and it is too easy for someone to fail. I donât think that is going to cut it.
Itâs super cool that developers can do things like SmartTiles and Rule Machine and all kinds of single use SmartApps. Not many non-enthusiasts are ever going to install SmartTiles though, the workflow is too hard. Rule Machine is awesome, but the UI totally sucks -just because of the current constraints on what a SmartApp can be. Single use apps are great until the user wants to do something a tiny bit different and then they are on a much harder path. (I strongly believe that more generalized automation builders are what will win)
A really great UI for control (SmartTiles for example) is critical, but SmartThings is so far from great. Do they see that? Do they agree with the premise? Do they have a clear idea about where they want to go? Is their idea actually great?
The ability to define and manage automation very easily is critical. SmartRules and simplerulebuilder.com are OK, but very âoutside of the appâ. Rule Machine is very powerful but very hard to use. I donât believe it is even possible to create a very good automation experience with SmartApps today. They are too limiting in terms of UI/UX. Does SmartThings agree/disagree? Do they have a good idea for what to do about it?
The vision I have seen from them is along these lines âLetâs connect all of your things and make it so they can all work togetherâ. That is a necessary step, but if the average person doesnât have a really good way to interact (control and automate) with the things it wonât really matter.
I donât agree. Bugs impact user experience, and user experience is key in a personal space like Home Automation. In fact, if I had paid ST $500 for a bundle of gear and then it didnât work right? Iâd really be upset.
I think @JoeC spelled out some pretty good questions in his original post. Itâs an honest question to ask: With the benefit of 2 years of experience, is the original vision still the right one? Does a cloud-based platform still make sense? If so, why? Is relying on a community of volunteer developers writing SmartApps for most complex automations a scalable and accessible solution?
Iâm also realistic⌠I understand thereâs going to be some cloak and dagger from ST about roadmaps. But we can ask, right?
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tgauchat
(ActionTiles.com co-founder Terry @ActionTiles; GitHub: @cosmicpuppy)
27
This can be reduced to a binary answerâŚ
Either:
Their vision is limited by âincremental thinkingâ; i.e., they are constrained by the architecture, staff, management, product management strategy (MVP), business strategy, existing install base, etc., to only see the product evolving incrementally. Out of the box or complete overhauls are out of the picture. Thus, SmartThings may be hopeless myopic. They are so myopic that they donât even notice they are.
Their vision is wide open, unconstrained, outside-the-box. Future SmartThings wonât have or need âSmartAppsâ because it will be completely done via Artificial Intelligence. Youâll never need to use a GUI because it will read your mind (etc., etc., etc.).
Answer #1 is much more likely that #2.
The problem?: SmartThings believes that they can get to #2 via #1.
###Relevance to this Topic:
SmartThings has already admitted #1 (i.e., that their strategy is frequent continuous incremental updates to the product / platform for both bug fixes and new features). This includes improvements to the UI.
And, they have, indeed, informally from time to time, expressed extraordinary vision (like AI, or whatever), but (a) they definitely never commit to it (see much earlier posts here, doh!), and (b) itâs left up to the observer as to whether or not grand vision can be reached via an incremental / continuous improvement strategy.
I think I know the answer to this one. I did my own research.
Is relying on a community of volunteer developers writing SmartApps for most complex automations a scalable and accessible solution?
This one I have serious doubts about. It was the most attractive piece in the original SmartThings vision and they swore multiple times that it remains unchanged. I want to believe it, but honestly, I cannot see how it can be sustained and scaled up going forward. It creates huge support and maintenance overhead (even if the custom apps and device handlers are not âofficially supportedâ) that can outweigh any potential benefits.
My 2 cents as a technology enthusiast but not a developer is that SmatThings gives me the greatest opportunity to connect and control the things I use at home: security cameras, Hue lights, Amazon Echo, Ecobee Thermostat and the contacts and sensors to watch everything else. So far Iâm very happy that Iâve been able to ramp up on IDE for virtual switches that play with IFTTT and Rules Machine (a necessary staple of this platform) and I love fine tuning and Iâm just getting started. But to onboard the masses of other guys like me with money to spend on these devices but not always the knowledge how to integrate or use them will take a step forward in the ramp up experience and interface UX.
So many wonderful things are here but just hidden from a user like myself. I know you donât want to have lots of smartapps with potential bugs but many users really want these tools. Perhaps let user click the âBeta Modeâ button and understand they are in experimental territory. Further, if those of us willing to run in beta mode do get problems, we need an easy way to flag the bug.
I didnât mean to get off topic here but sometimes a product view from a new user (who has spent around $2000 in the past 3 months on this ecosystem) can help paint a picture since Iâm not yet at a stage where I feel the limitations and problems that it appears some more seasoned participants have posted. But Iâm frustrated that the dashboard UX doesnât guide me toward easily doing the things I know are being done with this system. And finally, the users here sharing in this community are precious. Whoever drives this brand forward should support these contributors and for the developers make sure they have a route to compensation/profitability to invest their time in advances for all.
2 Likes
tgauchat
(ActionTiles.com co-founder Terry @ActionTiles; GitHub: @cosmicpuppy)
31
Now thatâs a vision I can get on board with (and I know the current abilities and limitless potential of this Platform is what many of us see, even through the cloud days⌠Thanks for the great perspective, Dave!
I think the clearest example of SmartThingsâ current state, and why weâre interested in a clear vision, is in this thread:
No user who possesses the skills to pair a motion sensor with SmartThings should ever need to start a thread asking how to use it to automate a light. Ever.
Iâm sure theyâve set a schedule to share it, but it got stuck and never fired off. Hopefully, a recently deployed, brand new and shiny scheduler will fix it.
SmartThings Vision, Direction and Developer Opportunities [IOT-65]
Alex Hawkinson, Founder, CEO, SmartThings
Dora Hsu, Chief Platform Officer, SmartThings
Alex and Dora will open our developer conference with an overview of SmartThings vision and strategic direction. They will provide insight into our roadmap and highlight the tremendous opportunities for developers to improve peopleâs lives by creating solutions on SmartThings open platform.
Knowledge Level:Beginner
Topics:IoT
Session Type:Lecture
Session Length:45 min
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tgauchat
(ActionTiles.com co-founder Terry @ActionTiles; GitHub: @cosmicpuppy)
38
OK⌠Thatâs worth the price of admission⌠really interested in Dora Hsuâs vision for the âPlatformâ (i.e., the development part of SmartThings that we here all live and breathe).
Will this Lecture be made available afterwards to the public by video, I hope?
