Happy New Year! 🎉

As is tradition at Local Bytes, we like to take a moment to reflect on the year that's just passed. 2024 has been a year of growth and change, and we're excited to share some of the highlights with you. Naturally, we've done the same thing in previous years, so if you want to see what we got up in previous years, 2021, 2022, and 2023

A year in numbers

As always, we like to start with some numbers. Please note, we share these to show our appreciation for your support!

Throughout 2024 we have shipped:

• 3000+ Orders
• 6500+ Smart Plugs
• 1500+ ZigBee Sensors
• 300+ LocalDeck's!

OpenSauce

Earlier in the year, we were able to head to the OpenSauce event in San Francisco, and it was a great opportunity to meet some of our customers, and to hear how our products are being used in the wild.

We were able to meat some of the fantastic people behind the tools that we use day-in day-out. From companies like Raspberry Pi, to creators like Jeff Geerling who's tooling helps us manage some of our internal infrastructure!

Additionally, it was great to meet and hang out a bunch of like-minded people at one of the nearby makerspaces, and we're looking forward to the next event!

You can read more about our presence at OS24 here!

What's new?

Launching the LocalDeck

2024 saw the first of our new designs, the LocalDeck! Featuring a 4x6 grid of buttons, the LocalDeck is a great way to control your smart home, and we're thrilled to see how it's being used by our customers.

That's not to say it went off without a hitch, we had some teething problems with the first batch, and as such, we have our undying gratitude for our Early Adopters who waited patiently for devices to be shipped!

As of December, we have opened the LocalDeck's CAD source files to the public, mainly so you are able to take a look at the designs, and offer any improvements you can think of, etc. However, we believe opening the designs up allows us to stay close to our core values of transparency and community!

As we move into 2025, we're excited to see how the LocalDeck evolves, and we're already working on the next hardware iteration, and making the onboarding experience much easier!

Incubator Range

The LocalDeck was the first of our products to Graduate the Incubator! Unfortunately, it was the only one to do so in 2024, but we're excited to see what 2025 brings.

As it stands, we've decided it's best to de-list the Power Strip, as multiple setbacks with factories and suppliers have made it unfeasible to continue with the project at the moment.
However, we are now looking to build our own LED Strip controller, which we can then bundle with our LED Strips and power supplies!

Restructuring the Business

Back in June, we started planning a restructure how we operate as a company. Notably, effective August, we ceased our business partnership with our third part logistics provider, and brought all of our logistics in-house.

This has allowed us to have more control over our supply chain, and to offer a better service to our customers. It hasn't gone perfectly, especially when it comes to EU Taxes, but, we're pushing forward, and hoping to have more news on this in the coming months!

These changes caused a massive disruption to our day-to-day operations, but we're confident that it was the right move for the business.
We're excited to see how this change will allow us to grow in the future, and can only thank all of youfor your patience during this time.

The Forum

This year we also launched our Forum, a place for our community to come together, share ideas, and ask questions. Our current focus is looking at how we can better integrate the form with our existing support processes, allowing us to be more responsive where possible!

The forum is our effort to allow people to ask more obscure questions that may not be covered in our documentation, and to allow the community to help each other out.
It's not necessarily a replacement for our support channels, but it's a great place to start!

Over the next year, we're looking to make using the forum easier, and more rewarding, so keep an eye out for updates!

New People

We have also welcomed a new member to the team, Rebecca, our Community Manager!
They've been working hard to make sure our community is well looked after, and that we're doing everything we can to support you.

As we move into 2025, we're looking to expand the team further, so keep an eye out for new faces!

What's next

Planning a year ahead is always a challenge, but we're excited to see what 2025 brings.
Admittedly, we're still figuring out what the next steps are, but we're excited to see where the journey takes us.

We're looking to continue improving our existing products, and we're always on the lookout for new ideas, so if you have any suggestions, please let us know!

Honorable Mentions

Local Bytes would not be where it is today without the help of a few notable individuals and organisations, without whom, we would not be able to operate:

• The Tasmota Team! Tasmota is an amazing piece of software that allows anything running ESP-8266's (and similar) to operate in a highly customisable manner.
• The ESPHome Team! This year we started to ship products with ESPHome, once again lowering the barrier to entry for home automation.
• All of our customers! Ultimately, as a customer-first business, you are all key to our survival!
• The Local Bytes Insiders! A small group of our customers who have been helping us to test new products and features.
• You, the reader! If you've made it this far

This has truly been a year to remember, and we're excited to see what 2024 has in store for us.
I cannot wait to see how we can expand our range, improve our products, and help you upgrade your smart home!

Adam Allport,
Founder & CEO - Local Bytes