Square, and what the corners buy
A 3.4″ wall footprint, 8.4 in² of glass, and the same three things a first-timer needs. The value is in the four corners — the only part of a face where a persistent strip can live without crowding the number.
The face
Shown at 1:1 — 400 px = 3.4″
Everything is where it should be.
Square · 2.9×2.9″ face
The plan is always on screen, so the second screen disappears entirely.
The arithmetic
Two of those corners hold the plan strip and the zone strip. Both remove a screen instead of adding one.
What it costs
A square reads as a screen, and screens invite menus. The rule holds either way: three things, nothing else. Everything below earns its corner or it does not ship.
What the corners carry
Four candidates, in the order I would ship them
Ship it
The plan, always visible
The biggest win. Three chips along the bottom kill the “Today's plan” screen outright — scheduling stops being a place you go and becomes something you can see. Tap a chip to nudge it.
Everything is where it should be.
Ship it
The other zones, at a glance
A site has four of these on four walls. Two chips answer “is it just this room?” without walking the building — the question every comfort complaint starts with. Tap one to jump to it.
72°
Resting · drifting up
Power costs more until 7 PM, so this room was cooled early. The kitchen is untouched.
Worth it
A real answer, not a notice
A notice with no reply attached is a dead end. Two full-width buttons let the GM accept or opt out on the wall — the guardrail chains ask for before they enroll.
Service needed
since 1:14 PM
This unit has run for hours without getting there. A technician has been called.
Tech arriving
Tomorrow, 9 AM
Worth it
The next step, spelled out
A fault is only useful with a resolution attached. The extra row carries the ETA, which is the single thing a GM would otherwise phone someone to learn.
What I would not put in the new space
A weather panel
Nobody has ever fixed a dining room by reading the forecast off the thermostat.
A usage chart
Seven bars nobody can act on. Energy belongs in the fleet report, where somebody is paid to read it.
Mode and fan controls
The room for them is exactly why every competitor has them. Heat, cool and fan stay automatic.
A settings gear
One icon, and the device is a menu again. Configuration lives in the fleet console, behind an account.
My recommendation
Spend the corners on exactly two things: the plan strip and the zone strip. Both remove a screen instead of adding one, which is the only kind of feature this device can afford.