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Comment by conesus | Hacker News Reader

I have remotes setup in my home and office and the only time I need to enter the Turn Touch app is when I add a new device. You would be surprised at how easy the app is to use. I looked at every other home automation app I could find and I made my own app with the simplest interface I could design.

It really is a set-it-and-forget-it product.

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I would hope that it works now, my worry is more will it still work without me buying new stuff in five years?

Unlike very other tech product, the board inside Turn Touch is user replaceable (without tools!). So you can order a new circuit board when the wireless standards improve and get new functionality without having to spend the full amount.

Try to avoid stuff that depends on the Internet, Revolv was one example where customers got burned because Google essentially bricked the service after acquiring it. Logitech did a similar thing to their Harmony Link hub, though were more generous in offering customers an upgrade path.

I predict this will work in five years but not in fifteen. By 2033 you will have an iPhone XXIV which will not support Bluetooth, and even if you find an ancient iPhone XVI with Bluetooth on eBay, the remote maker will no longer be working on improving the app, so Apple won't let you install it. Of course today he's here to say the circuit board is replaceable but unless this thing is a breakout hit there won't be enough motivation to enhance it in 2033.

For those who may say if a remote lasts five years it's good enough: maybe you're right in today's context. Things I grew up with came with remotes that lasted 20 years and were only obsolete when the thing they controlled was. I guess that's true of Turn Touch too, if you consider that the device it controls is your iPhone.

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