Dear eWeLink Community and especially iHost users,
We’ve noticed some mixed feedback regarding the recent release of eWeLink CUBE 2.0, and we truly appreciate your input. We understand that many of you expected more than just a revamped user interface, and we want to take a moment to explain why this update is more significant than it may initially seem.
Key Backstage Enhancements
While the most noticeable changes in CUBE 2.0 are indeed in the user interface, there are crucial improvements under the hood that will significantly enhance your experience:
\1. Improved Zigbee Compatibility: Over the past two months, we’ve put a lot of work into improving Zigbee device compatibility. Instead of just supporting third-party devices by type, CUBE now handles them based on their abilities and generates device cards as needed.
To achieve these capabilities, we have optimized data structures and even rewritten some modules, particularly for the architecture supporting more device capabilities. These are crucial underwater work.
\2. Flexibility and Customization: The first thing you’ll notice on the updated eWeLink CUBE is the new UI. Now, you can select or even define a device type for Zigbee devices. This is especially useful for compound devices. Plus, you can upload your own device pictures, making it easier to manage multiple devices without getting overwhelmed. For example, it can manage curtain drivers with sensors or certain “all-in-one” devices.
\3. Step Towards OTA (Over-the-Air) Support: The backend enhancements are a crucial step towards implementing OTA support. Although this feature is already present in the backend, we are currently refining the front-end aspect to ensure a seamless and user-friendly release in the upcoming versions.
\4. Evolution of Device Grouping: We’ve upgraded our grouping functionality to work with the new Zigbee capability changes. Now it allows grouping by device capability instead of a specific device type.
Our Path Forward
We understand the anticipation for these features and assure you that we are diligently working to bring these improvements to you as soon as possible. It’s important to note that these changes in the backend won’t be noticeable on the user interface.
The initial 1.x versions of eWeLink CUBE were essentially a migration of the eWeLink cloud to a local version. While this approach led to many device compatibility issues that were not present in the cloud. In a localized setup, users connect various brands and types of devices, which are difficult to handle. Therefore, a more flexible framework is needed to dynamically generate device UIs based on device reporting capabilities. This need is the core reason for the development of the 2.0 version.
As we move forward with the 2.x versions, the updates might not significantly change the front end immediately. However, extensive work is being done on modifying and optimizing the overall experience including add-ons and APIs.
Your patience as we finalize these updates is greatly appreciated. We value your feedback and are committed to continually enhancing the eWeLink ecosystem to meet your needs and expectations.
Please stay tuned for further updates and feel free to share any additional feedback or questions you may have. We are here to support you and ensure that your experience with eWeLink continues to improve.
Thank you for your understanding and continuous support.
Best regards,
Ward
