Complete home automation and control company, Control4, has just added a new option for their customers who want a customizable way to control their devices. The $600 Neeo is an ultra-slim, aluminum-bodied hybrid remote control created by Neeo Remote Control, a Swiss company that Control4 acquired in early 2019. With a small group of physical buttons at your fingertips and an LCD touchscreen across 3-inch high-resolution color, Neeo remote control provides customization and convenience to Control4 systems running its OS 3.
If the Neeo looks familiar, that’s because the company sold a very similar version to Kickstarter backers in 2018 for $369. When we reviewed it back then, we were impressed by its sleek and stylish design, but significantly less enthusiastic about its actual functionality. It failed to deliver a better overall experience than the Harmony Elite, and many of its best features, like fingerprint recognition and a lost remote finder, failed to materialize despite being promised to backers. Some of its customizations, like one-touch access to favorite channels, proved difficult to set up.
Since the Control4 version sells for almost double, hopefully these bugs have been fixed by now. That’s what Control4 promises. While the company has retained Nee’s in-house design, materials, and hardware, the software is brand new. Neeo runs Control4 OS 3, the same code that runs on other Control4 systems, which (in theory) should mean it’s just as reliable and fast as those devices.
Nee’s one touch favorites are room specific. They can be selected via the Control4 touch screen or the Control4 app. Just about every activity can have a favorite, and if you want, you can get a detailed schedule like a specific show on Netflix.
Unfortunately, even though Neeo is now as easy to use as it is beautiful, it still lacks the features we’ve come to expect from the latest remote controls. The physical keys are not backlit, which will likely make it difficult to use in a dark room. There’s also no voice functionality, a particularly surprising absence given that the Control4 has been at the forefront of its integration with voice assistants like Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant.
When Digital Trends asked Control4 about voice control, we were told that “There are a number of challenges in delivering a voice-controlled remote that has broad support for smart home control and entertainment services, and we look forward to seeing that the technology matures in the future. the next years.”
Despite these shortcomings, the Neeo represents a significant improvement in simplicity over Control4’s SR-260 remote, a push-button device the company still sells for $330. With its touchscreen interface, Neeo can be constantly updated to reflect an owner’s current suite of smart home devices, whether it’s a thermostat or a Wi-Fi-equipped refrigerator. That’s a big plus for Control4’s army of custom installers who have to help users deal with the nearly 14,000 smart home devices the system can control.
Now available in black and silver only through authorized Control4 retailers, the Neeo comes with its own charging cradle that doubles as a stand when the remote is not in use. Its internal batteries should last up to five days on a charge according to the Control4.
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Source: newstars.edu.vn