Indigo Domotics

With the release of the Apple Watch a week away, and having tried one out at the Apple Store, I am more convinced than ever that an extension of Indigo Touch for the watch would be extremely useful. The little screen shot you posted a month or so ago with a list of devices could easily be adapted for the Watch and it would be really useful.

Is such a thing planned?

We definitely plan on investigating it, but as a company policy won't be discussing specific future plans/features (exception being some smaller features, or some features whose release is imminent).

I think it is important for Indigo to be on top of this sooner rather than later. Here is a blurb about an app available now. I'm sure many more will follow shortly. I'd hate to see Indigo lag behind in what I think will be a very compelling selling point for rival products.

I use Indigo, have an AppleWATCH coming and will try the Lutron app for RadioRA2. I don't really know why though. Honestly, yeah it'd be cool to have an Indigo watch extension, but I don't know what I'd use it for. Considering the limited resources available, I'd rather have more pressing needs developed.

So much of these Apple watch extensions fit into the 'because we can' category. Go look at all the apps announcing watch support: CNN, Yelp, AP Mobile, Bloomberg Business, Mint... Etc. to use almost all of these, I want at least a phone size screen.

What does everyone want to do with Indigo on their Apple watch?

Don't know about anyone else, but virtually every device in my house is controlled by Indogo. Hundreds of them of all kinds. To be able to walk into a room and turn on the lights, adjust the temperature, turn on the TV, play music or activate a scene just by touching my watch is the essence of convenience, and the real point of the watch itself: freedom from a phone or computer to do the things we want to do effortlessly.

In addition the app I posted, there are at least 4 Hue watch apps. Mark my words-- any automation system that integrates with the watch will be extremely successful. I fully expect to see an Insteon app for the watch sooner than later. I would be very sad to see Indigo miss that boat. In the electronic world things turn upside down very quickly.

Just sayin.

There's a hardware and software that keeps up with the latest and greatest gadgets/technologies out there , but in the long run there's is nothing like Indigo. I have Insteon and Zwave on every switch in my house and everything I can possibly hook into it. I've also tried every other piece of hardware/software to control them. Nothing comes close to the flexibility of Indigo. It's all a matter of "yeah, I can get this cool new thing to work but 50+ other automations I have around the house stop working and can't work". Give these guys time and they'll keep up with the times and do it better, rather than put out crap. It's pretty much a guarantee because it equates to more sales.

Every new API or hardware release we see the same thing. Post this kind of stuff in the feature requests if you really think they hadn't of thought about integrating the apple watch. Ditch Indigo if you're just threatening.

You totally miss my point. I am committed to Indigo and manage hundreds of devices with it with very complex control pages, actions and scripts. I want it to survive and I'm just expressing my view that the apple watch will be as significant an interface as the iPhone and I don't want Indigo to miss the boat. You can disagree with my opinion but don't misstate my motives.

FYI

Can always crowd source some money and get a third party to develop an interface into Indigo... one of the beauties of the software is that it is interoperable and extendable with virtually any thing or any client...

Adam

kennybroh wrote:

You totally miss my point. I am committed to Indigo and manage hundreds of devices with it with very complex control pages, actions and scripts. I want it to survive and I'm just expressing my view that the apple watch will be as significant an interface as the iPhone and I don't want Indigo to miss the boat. You can disagree with my opinion but don't misstate my motives.

I kind of think you miss the point to the Apple watch.

I appreciate that you have hundreds of devices... Have fun navigating through them on the watch. Seriously, it's like the demo where they open the garage door with alarm.com. In what way would that be better and faster than just using your damn phone?

I agree on the point that the watch has a future in home automation, but right now only for people with like 5 devices. For it to be useful in a large installation there needs to be a quantum leap in software's ability to predict which of the hundreds of devices you want to control and present you with it.

The watch will excell in applications requiring prompt notification, and actions with few options.

Even things like texting. Apple watch will be great for reading texts, and sending relatively canned responses. Anything more than that and we'll all be reaching for our phones.

Totally disagree.. It is ideal for the way the watch. is navigated. In essence you would set up nested lists.with the most likely devices easily accessible. We do't have to agree, but thee are already at least 6 home automation apps for the watch, including an Insteon app, and two or three Philips Hue apps. Apparently someone agrees with me. And since a number of my devices are insteon I can do this another way. It's just too bad I will have to set up parallel systems and won't be able to do it with Indigo.

As to your general observations about the watch, apparently you haven't read any of the reviews of the watch. At least several noted technology columnists wrote that after 2 or 3 frustrating days trying to understand how best to use it, they couldn't live without it and it totally changed the way they interacted with their personal technology. For example, read this article from the New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/09/techn ... technology

If personally see the watch being useful for very simple command of indigo.. Anything more than that is agree the phone/tablet is more suitable.. But it's certainly be handy to have the ability to choose a group of common devices/action groups to invoke with just a couple of taps.

kennybroh wrote:

Totally disagree.. It is ideal for the way the watch. is navigated. In essence you would set up nested lists.with the most likely devices easily accessible. We do't have to agree, but thee are already at least 6 home automation apps for the watch, including an Insteon app, and two or three Philips Hue apps. Apparently someone agrees with me. And since a number of my devices are insteon I can do this another way. It's just too bad I will have to set up parallel systems and won't be able to do it with Indigo.

As to your general observations about the watch, apparently you haven't read any of the reviews of the watch. At least several noted technology columnists wrote that after 2 or 3 frustrating days trying to understand how best to use it, they couldn't live without it and it totally changed the way they interacted with their personal technology. For example, read this article from the New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/09/techn ... technology

There's a bunch of other announced automation apps?! Then it MUST be useful.

I read the reviews, and agree with what you said, but the fact that people found it indispensable was that it left them more connected, not because they could now do all the complicated things they want on their wrist.

You know even if it IS on the watch, it's not going to be like "walk into a room, tap your watch and the lights go on" right?

First you have to go to the app screen, then find the app and load it. Then find what you want to control and activate it.

Maybe we just have a slightly different sense of what home automation is really about. When I'm in the house, I rarely even use my phone to control things as there's almost always a better way (switch, keypad, remote, etc). I LIKE having phone control so I can monitor/control remotely. When I'm IN the house, I want the automation system to be more... Automated.

Sorry, I just can get the image of standing in a dark doorway for 6-8 seconds trying to find out how to turn on the light out of my head.

And don't get me wrong - I'd love apple watch support - I just want other things more.

Swancoat wrote:

You know even if it IS on the watch, it's not going to be like "walk into a room, tap your watch and the lights go on" right?

First you have to go to the app screen, then find the app and load it. Then find what you want to control and activate it.

Setting the priority Apple Watch support should get aside, I do think iBeacons could make it feasible to have an app make a small set of very localized and pertinent commands available a swipe away in "Glances" (or in an iPhone widget).

I have put a handful of iBeacons around the house and I've been playing with what I can do with them -- the range is larger than I'd want on the ones I purchased, so I need to figure out if I can reduce the range, or try to triangulate my location.

Not familiar with them. What are iBeacons?