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🔖 Introduction

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ZenHome — smart home mobile app

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ZenHome is a smart home app that brings all devices into one ecosystem and gives users a powerful tool to build automations.

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About the project

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The market is split into two extremes: mass-market apps are too simple, while advanced platforms have a steep learning curve — setting up a truly complex automation often requires learning code and technical documentation. As a result, users end up switching between multiple apps to manage a single home.

I designed a unified experience based on progressive disclosure. The app offers two levels of interaction:

• Basic Mode: a simple interface for everyday tasks
• Custom Logic: deep scenario customization and access to code for advanced automations </aside>

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🤔 Problem research

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Key problems

👉 For Pragmatics: technical barrier & fragmentation

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I analyzed the market leaders (Yandex Alice, Aqara Home, VK Marusya) and conducted in-depth interviews. The research revealed two core problems that became the foundation of my work:

• Complex device setup. Adding and configuring new devices is often confusing and takes more time than it should.
• Multiple apps instead of one. To control devices from different brands, users have to juggle several apps — which creates friction and a fragmented experience. </aside>

Home screens of key competitors

Device setup flows

👉 For Tech Geeks: “Functionality ceiling”

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Mainstream smart home apps often prioritize simplicity over flexibility, which makes them limiting for advanced users.

• Limited toolkit. Power users quickly hit the limits of basic “If / Then” automations. They need variables, advanced conditions, and scripting capabilities.
• Uncomfortable alternatives. To get full control, they often switch to complex platforms like Home Assistant — powerful, but not designed for a smooth mobile experience. </aside>

Current solutions

For Tech Geeks, the main “go-to solution” is Home Assistant — an open-source platform that can connect devices from different brands and support almost any automation scenario.

However, it comes with a steep learning curve: it requires strong technical skills, working with configuration code (YAML), and time to set up and maintain a self-hosted system.

Home Assistant dashboard

Automation code editor in Home Assistant