Although I’ve had Echo’s for some time now, and been gradually adding different smart devices over the years, I’m new to Hubitat and slowly realising that I am downloading and using more and more apps for different devices as I continue to build on my smart home, and this in turn is meaning I’m creating more subfolders on my phone to keep them all together.
So I’m interested to know if people have a setup whereby they use a dedicated tablet to monitor/use/combine all their smart home apps and devices? And if so, do you find it easier than scrolling through your phone to find the app you want to check/modify, that’s tucked away in a subfolder?
I got one set up for my workbench/desk area and I find it pretty handy. I kept thinking about wall mounting one in a central location but could not really determine an acceptable method with the family.
So instead I ended up finding a deal on a Lenovo Tab, got a little stand for it, and am using the awesome HD+ Android Dashboard with screen saver and motion detection. Walk in and to my desk and it comes on with some key items. Sit at my work area for a bit and it turns off the screen. But I just wave my hand and can get a quick glance again if I want.
My opinion is slightly mixed on this, and it depends heavily on what you use and how you use it. For my setup, most of the integrations in HE with the services / apps I use are relatively straight forward to setup, e.g. Hue, SolarEdge, SensorPush, Mitsubishi A/C and Harmony (a couple of shameless plugs in there for some integrations I look after now).
For me the "mixed experience" can occur when looking to surface these on a tablet, or more generally on a dashboard of some kind. Putting aside my own ambitions to enhance this area by developing tools myself, there are more and more options available nowadays, like HD+, HubiVue, along with the built-in dashboard and Community-built add-ons like Smartly and others ...
I'd suggest finding a pre-existing tablet to use while you explore some of these options to see how they play out on that device. Once you find a setup that works, I would suggest finding a cost-effective (for you) option for a more recent model tablet, unless the one you already have is recent enough. The reason I suggest this is that, at least in the Android world, if you try to re-purpose an old tablet, while things like Chrome or other browsers are likely to suit your uses, other apps may not be compatible.
Then think about providing power, mounting, size, etc... Enjoy!!
I was thinking Lenovo. We got the kids these for Christmas and I was thinking they seem reasonably priced and would be able to do what I want them to do.
Just so I have everything in one place and on a slightly larger screen than just my phone. I don’t really use our laptop, just occasionally for kids homework and things, so having a tablet just for my smart things I think would be more useful
We’ve only just added tablets into the house, and they’re for the kids and set up only for kid use, so trialing it out wouldn’t really be possible at the moment. But like I’ve said to @snell I was thinking about an inexpensive Lenovo tablet.
I’m not overly fussed on mounting it anywhere, as I find myself wandering round the house and having a check up on things whenever I get chance, so having portable is the route I’m thinking of going down. But it would allow me to keep everything in one place and not have to try and do everything through my phone
This will not suit everyone, but I choose to mount mine on the side of my fridge using magentic mounts, requiring a commitment of placing metalic pads stuck on the back of the tablet. It allows me to take down the tablet if I want and wander around like you talk about. May be something to consider.... Power was not ideal, requiring a temporary cable management "issue", while I charge the tablet....
Here's a very old post showing my old tablet mounted on the fridge alongside other magnetic remotes....
