Software stack: if you don't want to spend too much time tinkering with the software, go for something simple like HomeAssistant with nothing else around and you will be just fine. For most people any software is more hassle than they desire, all the extreme customizations are not really needed. If you feel so special, home automation is not that special, not if you want mass adoption and convenience.

The internet is not the weak link, the internet is a security nightmare. You don't want a Chinese guy shut you off because all your Tuya devices can be controlled by them. You don't even want a random hacker to set your fridge to heat, like the recent France incidents.

Also, QR codes as a good UX? I like what you are smoking, it is very effective in disconnecting from reality.

I think a smart home hub of sorts should be something you can install in any home, like a water heater or an internet router. The hub connects to your wifi and manages all of your smart devices. You register your devices with it using a web interface that is only just like configuring a router

The web interface part would be the really complex piece I think. You would have to have some way for devices to tell it what features they have, so it could dynamically produce the appropriate controls per device

I dunno if this is really feasible to actually build but it's one of the only ways I can think that would allow average non-technical people to do this without having to administrate their own hardware and network settings and such

I absolutely agree. If anything should work without the internet, it's:

1. smart home devices

2. your children's toys

3. your Siri when you ask to find something in your phone

and yet here we are. No internet? Siri can't find anything in your phone.

Oh my favorite is how Spotlight seems to randomly fail to find local files it was easily able to find yesterday, and starts searching the web instead.

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