Tile design and features

looking from end user view I think the tiles must me more customizable - and not only for developers (in future)…

Customer is adding as sample an Aeotec Multisensor 6 /Z-Wave) or multisensor (Zigbee)
What does he see after adding process?
A simple Tile with a motion symbol / window contact symbol. Yes - these symbols are “active” elements, changing by state.
Motion_tile
But in label I see duplicate text information - more or less useless
Why user cannot define what he want to see here? As sample

Motion_tile_mod Motion_tile_mod2

Same for any multi sensor - user see after integration
Multisensor_tile
But would be nice to see:
Multisensor_tile_mod1 Multisensor_tile_mod2
The multisensor symbol could be also here active - depending on temperature or humidity.

In case of the SmartThings multisensor (contact/vibration/temperature) we see the same - the contact only as symbol, no temperature information and no vibration (could be at symbol).

What I want to say is - the user expects to see the device at the app after adding process - and not just a part that cannot be influenced. And he want to see the (for him) most important information.
If he is checking the app - the probability of a detected motion is very low at that very moment - so why not display the temperature?

If I show the door/window contact only - why not display “last event at 04:30” instead of the simple “contact open” label (or “last: today, 04:30”)

In all cases (motion,vibration,door sensor) we could show the event on the icon - and after user have checked it at second tile - this information at symbol could be cleared). User could select this option, if he like it.

These changes are (more or less) simple to integrate - all information is available and could be selected by customer.

And of course for all developers it would be a great help for integration of new devices to make it more attractive for our customers.

This are only some ideas how to make the UI more user friendly and more interesting for the customers.

I hope developers will check this and give any comment.
@erickv - what do you think? :wink:

Here! Here! I couldnt agree more. A developer of a DH even made the comment to me that THEY didn’t know how/why some information got displayed on a tile. Being a coder I’d love to know if this can be changed and how or where (ie DTH)

TL;DR - It is of little appeal to me, but since it should largely be something implemented by the apps it isn’t going to cause any harm if people did want it.

As an ‘end user’ I would not touch the apps with a bargepole with a piece of cotton wool on the end, and therefore I couldn’t give a monkey’s about user configuration in the apps. The only reason the app is even installed is to act as a presence sensor and for notifications. It is absolutely ridiculous that I am granted full access to totally destroy something I know nothing about. Give me some interesting widgets independent of the app and I’d think about it, but otherwise a phone is the last thing I really want to use for home control.

As the owner of my location, and the person responsible for configuring it, I lament the very existence of the apps. I’d much rather be using a web browser, backed up with a command line interface. That said, a devices UI would still have to exist if I were using a web browser. Would I want it to be user configurable? Well to be honest I’m not all that bothered as I’m not actually using it to get the status of anything, I am using it to get in, get a job done, and get out. I am happy to work with what I am given and generally prefer things that way. I just want it to make sense and work. I would find it counter-intuitive if the active/inactive status of the icon did not reflect the status text, just as I find it counter-intuitive if the dashboard status isn’t also the first capability on the details view.

As a developer, albeit one developing for my own use, it shouldn’t really affect me as long as there is a big button to set the UI to the default temporarily. There shouldn’t be anything I need to do to allow user configuration. That should be purely an app function. Look at things like the dashboard tile status text for example. That is defined as an array and the app uses the first entry in the array. Well it is no skin off my nose if it doesn’t, I’m not stopping it.

I just change it using the CLI.

Hi,

maybe I didn’t express myself correctly.
I’m a developer and know, that it isn’t possible in this time - even not using the CLI.
And with the “developers will check” - I mean the ST employees :wink:

If I say “looking from end user view” - then I mean that we must not forget that the ready system simply has to be usable by the end customer - we all need user acceptance.

So these options are “from end user view” important, I think so.

And I vote for it - that the priority for these things is recognized and is increased. For our customers (and for us - the developers :wink: …)

@orangebucket
I’m working since 8 years as developer / integrator of smarthome systems and know quite a few gateways - ready solutions like Fibaro and Vera, “self made” solutions like Home Assistant, Domoticz and software products like Z-Way and more.

The most problem is the usability for the end users.
If I want to install/sell a smarthome solution for a normal customer (without any developer skill) the user should like to use it. On phone, tablet and/or web browser.
He must be able to configure notification (for motion as sample) and simple rules.

If checking he dashboard it does not make sense to see only the inactive motion sensor status at first view - but the temperature of the multi sensor will be in most cases more interesting.

I agree - too much configuration options are not good for end user - but a selection of different views should be possible (with a default reset).
But that there are missing options for customer we see in other UI solutions like ActionTiles - that’s why they exist…

Here in the community we are most developers with technical skill. But we must see the difference in approach in the operation for the end customer - if the gateway is also designed for this target group.

And for the developers there must be more options for customization - in this case using the API and CLI tools - so we could build device handlers with needed options.

So what you want is multiple attributes on the tile? This is already possible with groups.

The issue as you said is it isn’t configurable by the end user