Installation Product of the Year

The original Neeo came from an independent Kickstarter project aiming to deliver the perfect touchscreen universal remote, one which would work easily with Control4’s smart home solutions. It worked so very well that Control4 itself was smitten, and bought the company. This Control4 Neeo is their love-child, designed with the same attention to Swiss-like styling on the outside, and inside fully optimised for Control4’s Smart Home OS 3, giving easy access to everything from entertainment — television and radio stations, streaming services, playlists — to lighting scenes, door locks, and more. And it uses a sensible combination of touch controls on the bright three-inch colour touchscreen along with real buttons below for when you want to control a movie or music without the backlights popping on.

It’s a good solid remote control, in machined aluminium and boldly promoted as “Built with families in mind, Neeo can withstand heavy usage and accidental drops”. It sits neatly in a charging stand, though if you forget to dock it, there’s enough battery life to work for five days, and it sleeps when not in use. Its standalone price is around $1050, though of course you’ll need a Control4-based system in your home for the Neeo to control!

More information: www.control4.com