I get the intent behind Device Quick Actions in 10.0.0. Tapping a tile opens the controls directly now, and for a lot of devices that’s actually better. But there’s a trade-off I think went the wrong way. The quick action is the thing I do most often, and it’s now a tiny icon in the corner. The big target opens controls and settings, which I rarely need. I haven’t opened the full device view in six months, only quick actions. So the common thing is the hardest to hit and the rare thing gets the whole card.
Sure, long-press is not great UX. But the fix shouldn’t make the most frequent action the fiddliest one.
Simplest thing I can think of: let me invert it. Big area triggers the quick action, corner opens the control view. Global or per tile, don’t really mind. Anything that keeps the frequent action the easy one.
I completely disagree with that. I think the user experience has improved by 100%.
Having to press and hold the device tile before being able to operate the device was a disaster.
But this method of operation wasn’t chosen by chance. It was intended to prevent the device from being turned on directly by accident. This would be obsolete if it were implemented the way you suggest.
I hear you. If you mostly tap a tile to open the full device controls, the new update is definitely a massive improvement for you.
I think it really comes down to whether we view these squares as “device cards” or “quick buttons”.
When I look at my Favorites on the Home screen, I just want a big switch to turn things on or off quickly. Having to aim for a tiny corner adds friction to what used to be an effortless tap.
That is why I think quick actions settings are the best fix. I definitely do not want to force the old way on anyone who loves the new design. A simple setting just lets us both choose what the main tap does. You get to keep your quick access to the full card, and I get my big buttons back. And with individual controls (each device has their own quick action settings already), you can set it up the way you want.
My garage opener buttons went from big and easy to use to small and hard to hit. For single purpose devices, the device-as-button makes more sense. But I ultimately think what’s needed is for Athom to step back and consider this device vs button situation properly and solve for both.
Another thought: Maybe Athom should redesign the favorites section: instead of showing you a copy of the device tile (that works the same) they could also show only the specific quick action that is your favorite. Thus showing only that specific action in the favorites section. That item would then be a (larger) button that you can directly press.
So moving away from a whole device as a favorite to a specific quick action of that device as a favorite.
I agree to 100% and I’m so happy for this positive surprise in the homey app.
I do of course understand that not all use Homey or it’s app the same way, but for me that mainly use the homey app for monitoring a multitude of different sensor data, and use voice commands or physical buttons for control - this is excellent!
I think it is a grear improvemend for quick access to the overview. I consider the switch a useful tweak, only it is for me too small.
Increasing the switch button size would be a great improvement for me. For example left half with the icon (access), right half with the button (toggle on/off).
I agree with both opinions. So the best way would be to give the user the choice to customise the buttons. Preferably a setting for each icon.
My biggest gripe with the new look is that sensor values are tiny and gray! Why?! I have several weather sensors for different purposes and what is the most important information from a sensor? Is it the sensors name? Is it the chosen icon? No, it’s the sensor value of course.
When I’m chilling on my patio in my sun chair and want to see the pool water temperature the sun makes my phone screen super dark and the sensor values are all but impossible to see in the overview. So I have to click the button to open up the sensors information. I don’t like that at all.
As a Frontend developer I can understand both sides of the debate. The previous situation where the quick action was triggered when you tab the device icon, and if you want to open the device, you’d have to tap and hold the icon for a slightly longer period was a true UX crime.
The current situation is much better, but there are still issues with it from a UX perspective.
It’s a button inside a button. This is a UX anti pattern. Each action should have its own separate button.
The quick action button is (just like many other buttons in the Homey app) smaller than recommended. Buttons on mobile devices should have a tappable area of at least 44px with at least 8 to 12px separation between them. Current buttons are less than 44px, and because of the button inside button pattern there’s 0 separation between them.
It’s not always clear that the quick action button is an actionable button. This is because there’s no unified call to action. The quick action buttons look different from other actionable buttons in the app. Also, the disabled state is not uniform. Sometimes the gray color is used to indicate that a button is disabled, sometimes it means that the device behind the quick action is turned off.
I think a redesign of the device tiles and quick actions is justified here.
Besides the UX problem, the app also doesn’t look that modern anymore. It was very cool in the days. And certainly compared to its main competitor Home Assistant, which is an even bigger abomination. However, world has moved on. We went from skuemorphism, to flat design, to nuemorphism and now glassmorphism (by lack of a better term). Homey feels like it got stuck in the 10’s.
