Five years ago, an idea came to me: what if I could control my shutters with my phone? And what if, when I left my apartment, the shutters would close by themselves, without having to do it manually?
Then, I went looking for a mobile app that could have allowed me to do that. The conclusion was clear: no mobile application met my need.
After a few weeks of thinking about it, a few weeks of development, Pilot was born. The first version allowed me to control all my smart home devices from my smartphone, with a minimalistic interface.
The application quickly found its audience, many people facing the same problem as I had.
The following versions have added important features:
-
-
iPad and Apple Watch support
-
-
Data protection with Touch ID and Face ID
-
PUSH notifications
-
Search bar
-
But since the first version, a feature had never evolved: the user interface.
 |
 |
 |
It was very functional, but also incredibly austere. Pilot was clearly not “user-friendly”, its main advantage was to be able to trigger events and receive information. The visual aspect had never been my priority.
Today, it all changes. The interface needed a serious revamp. After several years of thinking, and a lot of discussion with the app community, I am able to deliver a brand new interface, all made from scratch.
|
 |
 |
This new interface is modern while remaining familiar. Everything has been preserved and improved:
- more pleasant visually
-
More devices are displayed on the screen
-
Just tap on a device to change its state. And for more possibilities, long press on it
-
Each room, each category, indicates the number of devices located there
-
Everyone can customize the interface by taking a picture of every room
-
even more new features
The interface is enriched with many screens that will be device-specific: whether you want to control your lights, shutters, alarm, custom equipment, scenarios, Pilot adapts to make your life easy.
Previously, the controls of each type of equipment appeared in very small, in the form of clickable buttons.
From now on, the controls are displayed in full screen.
 Thermostats |
 Dimmer switches |
 Sélectors |
 Evohome |
 on/off switches |
 Dimmer blinds |
This new way to control your equipment in an intuitive way, and will allow me to propose specific features for each type of equipment.
This new interface is THE major feature of Pilot 3, but I also took the opportunity to accompany this release with many other minor features:
-
-
On each type of equipment, a small icon allows to better identify the proposed equipment
-
The “Favorites” widget takes over the new interface of the app
-
It is now possible to control password protected equipment directly from the widget or Watch
-
Pilot 3 still works on iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch. The application remains free with an in-app purchase of 9.99 € to unlock all features.
Ok, just tested this and I must say, wow ! a big improvement…
It looks very good (and still simple) and I find my way in the app very very fast….
Excellent job , thanks !
Glad you like it 🙂 please let me know if you run into any issues!
I like the new look and feel of Pilot 3 but there are a couple of important features that don’t seem quite right:
(a) I’m no longer able to view live images from my cameras – I only see a static image which I have to refresh manually. The cameras appear to indicate they are ‘live’ with big red text.
(b) It’s not possible to see how long has passed since a device last changed its status. This is very useful information for devices such as PIRs.
I use Domoticz server (v3.4834)
All that will be fixed in 3.0.1 😉
Love the new interface.
Small thing maybe: i can’t seem to add any shortcuts anymore.
The app does not show up in the available (and suggested) shortcuts.
Current shortcuts do work, but can’t add more…. sounds familair
Will be fixed in 3.0.1 🙂
The new appearance is very good, but there is information that I have missed some devices, I think devices that have more than one information is not possible to visualize
Will be improved in 3.0.1 🙂
Version 3.0 crashes on Iphone with IOS 12.3 (16F156). removed and reinstalled without any success. I was able to do the setup, but still crashes after showing the home screen. Unable to downgrade to version 2.x.
Hi Marco,
I’ll definitely fix it in 3.0.1.
Might this update be the reason why the Watch app doesn’t work any more? It thinks the app is not installed om my iPhone.
That’s weird.
I would suggest uninstall and reinstall the app. Sometimes it helps.
I like the new interface,
Maybe you can fix the smartmeter in 3.0.1. It gives raw values now..
Keep up the good work,
I want this also fixed.
Hi Patrick. Thanks for the great update, it made me jump straight to the premium version.
I was about to ask about Siri shortcuts, but I see someone else already mentioned them. ?
So I’ll just drop a suggestion: Force touch on Apple Watch for detailed options about devices. I have set up my blinder actions as Domoticz selectors. They work great from the iOS app with a long press, but on the Watch it is just not possible currently AFAIK.
Glad you’re enjoying the update 🙂
Not so simple to implement on the watch, but I’ll see what I can come up with.
Hi Patrick I really like the new interface but the scenes icons are not showing the full text which is making it impossible to know which scene is which. I have about 10 scenes which for instance say “lounge 20 degrees” i am only seeing “lounge” on the label
Hi Nigel,
I just released 3.0.1, can you download it from the “updates” tab in the App Store, and see if it makes your life easier? 🙂
That works perfectly thanks Patrick
Hello ferreira, if switches can see the last motion or activity, is great , bom trabalho 🙂
Version 3.0.3 can not be used with iOS widgets. Although you mentioned it was fixed.
Can you please check
That should be fixed by now 🙂