Figure 9.18: The Withings mobile app can use accelerometer data to measure
activity.
Even where different devices support the same tasks, they may be used in
different situations. For example, the key advantage of connected heating
systems is that the smartphone app enables control from anywhere, whether
that’s the other side of the world or the user’s bed.
However, this isn’t a recommendation to duplicate every piece of functionality
across every device – redundancy isn’t necessarily a good thing. Too many
functions on a single device can make the UI harder to use, especially if the
device has limited input/output capabilities. And user interaction components,
such as screens and buttons, add significantly to manufacturing costs of
embedded devices. The right decision will balance the usefulness, cost, and
usability of putting various features on different devices.