Yes, every one of those questions are valid...
albeit sewn with the very same intangibles that those for whom "Command Line Interfaces were like a native language" wondered about.... eons ago when so much effort was starting to be spent evolving the early "User Interfaces", and look where user expectations are today.
I hear you.
A big reason why I used the Smartly user app to make Dashboard prettier and am an avid user of HomeKit so my wife/family only deal with that native iOS UX.
My hope is the HE team hires a UX contractor to spruce things up and create a Design language they can run with. Would be a good investment IMHO.
UI looks great to me. Then again I'm one of those who sets up automation and doesn't really go into the GUI that much.
I tried to like the HE dashboard when I started with the platform and found it terribly lacking, as you do. Once Joe Page's dashboard was released I jumped on it and have never been the least bit sorry. Frankly, I can't imaging HE coming up with anything that would get me to leave it.
But if you're an Apple type then it won't work for you.
My use case is a 50/50 between automation and control/monitoring. The high-traffic areas, the offices, and the guestrooms are all automated. the one that isn't is our bedroom. I doubt it ever will be fully automated. just too many variables to account for. That being said, the dashboards we use are mostly monitoring, with the option to control when desired. That combination works well. Unfortunately, the native dashboards are way to rudimentary (I really hoped they would have made a move to takeover hubivue). Since I have switched away from Android, HD+ is no longer an option, though I did like it and used it when I was on Android.
As for the overall UI, yes it is somewhat dated, and I can think of several things I wish were different. At the end of the day, it works well. I would rather have a more basic UI that truly works, than a smooth fancy UI that has issues,
I could be really wrong or mistaken, but I seem to recall at some point in the past @bravenel indicated they knew the UI needed an overhaul, but that it would be a major project to do so.
Another vote for Joe Page's HD+ Dashboard, It is regularly updated with bug fixes, UI updates and new features. He has even added Android Auto support. If you are looking for a good Hubitat Dashboard, I am not sure you can find one better. So for me, I would prefer the Hubitat team focus on other things as HD+ already has this covered. I think that is one of the great things about Hubitat, the community probably has already solved whatever issue you have.
If you look at the Dashboard as a finished product it is rather weak. If you look at the Dashboard as a platform that can support apps then it fares much better.
This entire dashboard was built with Tile Builder and using a background graphic.
And it runs perfectly within the Hubitat mobile app.
Yes, Hubitat could certainly make it easier to build this type of interface. But they have already made it possible. Likewise with HD+ and Hubivue, which they made possible by the addition of Maker API.
I'd prefer to see them focus on the plumbing and let the community leverage that into solutions.
Yeah, and we've been putting effort into it ever since. But UI is a funny thing: making it better doesn't mean (a) that anyone notices improvements or (b) people will not still complain about it.
I agree with that sentiment. i would rather the focus be on making sure the hub is capable of handling the grunt work, not just for today, but for down the road. The community has come through with some very well-designed and useful options for dashboards, and I think that is how it should be. As this thread has shown, not everyone has the same needs, the variety of dashboards means almost anyone can find what ever suits their needs best.
Is it the place I could look for all these dashboard options? I would like to choose one as built-in one is limiting.
Agree that most important for the company to make hub functioning itself and supporting as many devices as possible.
I personally think an improved mobile interface would be better and go a long way towards making the platform more accessible. Controlling things via the app now is a pretty rough experience.
HD+ is quite popular, but it is Android only (find it in the Play Store)
Tilebuilder is available through Habitat Package Manager, there is a free tier, but the paid tier is only $7.00, and a small investment to support a community member's endeavors. I'm still tinkering with it.
Sharptools (Sharptools.io) is a web app, but can also be used as a custom dashboard in your habitat app. There are both Free and Paid tiers ($30/year).
Action tiles, but I have not had much luck getting it to work for me yet.
Hubivue is dead. there may be s few others out there, but those are the ones I've used.
Both HD+ and Sharptools are both very well supported by their developers who are very active in the community.
Just to throw my .02 out there, but I advocate for pushing devices into HomeAssistant and making use of their dashboard. It can do everything your heart desires. I’m not a fan of the automations and so I do pretty much all of that via Hubitat. Best of both worlds in my mind.
Only downside is obviously the need for always on hardware, but I feel like that is pretty common in this community.
Here...usually searching will find you cool stuff. 
HD+ If you're an Android user and want the best turn-key dashboard available, stop here. It's amazing.
Tile Builder:
Probably some good pointers here:
Tech how to w/CSS if you're of that ilk:
I would like to put a plug for a better "Hubitat" Dashboard.
Perhaps I'm too much influenced by external reviewers, but it appears clear to me that they judge a Home Automation product (like Hubitat) by the quality of its Dashboard.
Is it user friendly, it it intuitive, is it powerful? Is it "sexy"?
These are the questions that are asked, not "Can it's automation facility do X, Y and Z?"
Certainly, we all know (those of you that have investigated Hubitat seriously), we know that the Home Automation capabilities of Hubitat are outstanding. This is it's best characteristic. Anyone who investigates this platform in depth, will know this to be the case.
However, I believe that its now time to shift focus to the app, the dashboard. It's time to upgrade the UI, to show off the Home Automation capabilities, to make it much easier to create a simple Dashboard (as the OP mentioned here).
This is my humble opinion, and should be taken as just one person's opinion - but it does appear that many others feel the same way.
I rarely use the dashboard as all my automation ins nearly 100% perfect. The only dashboard I use occasionally is the one for my central heat/AC and maybe the house lights once in a while.
But that's Android only. iOS has 60% of the US market and I'd say much larger than that among the high(er) income households likely to use Hubitat. And with the HE HomeKit and HomeKit TTS apps, it would be unlikely that an android only solution would fly with most of users. Disclaimer: Apple Ecosystem user here.
Yes, this. I tested a bunch of the other third party dashboards and found they were either worse than the built in dashboards or would be way to cumbersome to setup. I did not especially like any of them. I ended up just learning more about the HE dashboard and with a few custom device drivers and small amount of CSS I was able more easily do more, with HE.
Also tested exporting to Home Assistant and it was a bit of work to figure out what add-ons to get and how to use them but once you figure it out HA has really nailed the dashboard IMO.
I honestly don't use any of it myself, I was just exploring some options for someone else. I just have some super basic HE dashboards in case I need to access something quick that I have not shared to Apple HK.
I concur with other posters. I aim to have a house that anticipates my needs and automates everything without me having to provide inputs. I turn on the TV it dims the lights. I walk into rooms it turns on the lights. It gets hot in a room and there is no one in there, the shades are lowered. I leave the house, it locks up. I walk downstairs in the morning and it adjusts the HVAC and turns on the lights if it needs to.
I also sprinkle a healthy set of Alexa commands in there with simple things like turning light groups on and off.
I do use Sharptools on a number of touchscreens. Very happy with the UI and capabilities. But to be honest the biggest use of the touchscreens is to look at the family photo album and to push the Go to Bed button when we turn in for the night. But the plan is to get a bed sensor and automate the go to bed as well.
Does your family obey the Go to Bed button when pressed?
Download the Hubitat app
