The night mode feature is useful in achieving the ideals of reducing energy usage and prolonging the life of the device. To further the pursuit of these ideals, providing operating modes the user can customize would be nice, possibly combined with a motion based sensor similar to how Nest Thermostats manage a home’s climate.
Operating Modes
Allow the user to select from a set of default operating modes (e.g. home, away) or create custom ones (party, vacation) to drive the unit. Each mode has its own settings like, which apps to run, network configuration, the location of use for this mode, etc).
Motion Sensor
With the assistance of motion sensor, the operating modes could be enhanced to further reduce energy usage and prolong the device. See, Motion Sensor
I suggested the ability to turn off and on the Tidbyt based on API requests that could be made by home automation systems. But it hasn’t received any attention or consideration unfortunately though it seems something that should be quite simple to implement.
But your idea of Operating Modes sound even better!
Another operating mode could be proximity. The Tidbyt could go to sleep whenever the user (or more precisely the phone) leaves the network. That way it would turn off when leaving for work, and turn back on again when you walk through the door.