I think it hilarious the guys promoting multi-apps.

This is no different than the coffee table with 5-6 remotes laying on it. Sure it works fine but with a lot more steps and frustration; especially when you hit a wrong button or can't remember/figure out how to do it (sound recently familiar?).
That is the whole point of selling a universal remote with a control system. Of course I have seen a dealer or two on here promoting that as well (no control system - and we're not talking 1 source bedroom setup). Pathetic! I feel sorry for their customers.
Having a custom app, programmed to take care of multiple tasks, is the exact same thing.

The biggest problem we face today, unlike 1-way IR commands, 2-way apps are a moving target. The equipment or service we are trying to control can (and does) change all the time. Making it very frustrating. I blame this on the manufacture & service providers for the 'hack' of BS they throw out at the public. Things can update, things can improve, but most of the time it doesn't mean the backend has to be broken to accomplish this. It is the crappy programmers and software engineers these companies have, that are the source of the problem.