You brave! I imagine you will get some strong opinions here....some of them maybe out of line. But I am looking forward to it. :)

My observation is that the Control4 app or the Elan app or whatever other app you want to toss in, is a clusterF^&# compared to using the "Lutron app, the SONOS app, the Luma NVR app", etc.

The value of the "Single UI" angle is eroding IMHO. A homologous aesthetic is one thing. But giving a full experience, comparable to the native apps of the products you are trying to integrate is another. And no one has both as far as I am concerned.

For me, the biggest selling point is the ability to actually automate things. I mean, this is "home automation", right? IFTT is pretty powerful, but is also pretty limited. If you want things to happen across multiple systems with a single user input, you need a control system. But this could likely be added as an "invisible" layer of control, allowing still, the use of native subsystems' apps.

Selling hardware is easy. Compare and contrast. This $2000 soundbar will demolish the freebie they threw in when you bought your TV at the furniture store. These $500 WAPs will work much better than the 4 wi-fi repeaters you are using now. The $3k screen is going to look sooo much better than the white sheet on your wall.

Selling the user experience is what you make it. For people who do not "get" technology, the single UI is great. It allows us to only give the basics to people who are...well....basic. If you like to have full control over everything, a "power user", if you will, you might be happier using all the apps.

Different strokes.