What’s the most "invisible” product you can’t live without?
We’re working on smart home tech that aims to be invisible, useful, and quietly perfect in the background.
It’s got me thinking…
What’s a product you use that you love precisely because you don’t notice it anymore?
It could be hardware or software. Something that works so reliably, so seamlessly, or so elegantly, that it fades into your life, and you only realize how much you love it when someone tries to take it away.
Would love to hear your examples (and selfishly, get some design inspiration 😅).
– Leon
Co-founder @ Intecular
Replies
Honestly Wi-Fi! I don’t see it, but the second it’s gone, my whole life crashes 😅.
@edith_christian Brilliant answer! It's almost too obvious of an answer, but I think that's what has made it the most powerful tool in many people's lives.
My nightlight. I've adjusted it so that it turns on and brightens up in accordance to the sun rise, and it automatically dims in the evening a few hours before bedtime. Makes sleeping and waking up more natural!
@yetl That's awesome! The nightlight in the InvisOutlet Pro does the same thing with the light sensor, but opposite. It adjusts it's own brightness based on the surrounding luminosity. So if its night-time or cloudy, it will brighten itself for a more comfortable glow. When it's daytime, it's not needed so it'll dim itself all the way down!
Bluetooth auto connection in my car. I get in, the music starts, calls just work, no fumbling.
@yahya_rogers Yup, another extremely obvious and underlying staple for an incredibly wide range of daily-use products.
TrackerJam
Cloud backups! My phone broke once and everything came back like magic.
@maklyen_may Really good point. Apple's Cloud has been an inspiration for future-proofing the InvisOutlet Pro interchangeable cover plate design.
I feel like autocorrect is the ninja of my life.I type nonsense and somehow still come off like I can spell.
Ambient audio, be it music or podcasts. My working mind demands it.
Before I even clicked into your post, I thought: Apple HomeKit and the Home App. It's on all but a couple lights in my house. It's something I use every single day, and I don't think about at all, until something goes wrong with my router once in a blue moon. Then I'm lying in bed and I can't turn out the lights across the room.
@andrew_scales I'm a HUGE fan of Apple Home. In my opinion, it's by far the best Matter pairing ecosystem.
@leonxue1 It leaves something to be desired from the UI/UX standpoint sometimes, but everything else about it just works. Stalked your upcoming launch a bit. It's super interesting to someone who likes my smart-home to be as subtle as possible.
Going to go off on a complete open-ended tangent about smart outlets for a second. When I either reno this house, or build my next one. I'm pretty convinced I want flush mount outlets, and I'm going to get pretty particular around light switch hardware. Of course, the only really well executed flush mount switches I've seen have been in Europe and sourcing those for the US market are a PITA. I don't know where I'm taking this other than smart hardtech has so much opportunity for making cool stuff.
@andrew_scales I'm with you! To me, the biggest issue that inspired this product in the first place was device clutter. Nothing is more annoying than buying 10+ devices that may be from different brands, use different apps. Some are battery-powered, some need hubs, etc. The reality of the smart home is that it has NOT delivered on its promise a decade ago, instead creating countless headaches.
Velocity
Noise cancelling headphones 🎧 imagine the world had them when everyone was only office based, we'd probably be on Mars.
@kevin_mcdonagh1 Haha very true!