Neeo Universal Remote Review: A Viable Alternative to Logitech Harmony?

My Neeo Universal Remote Review

📚 Related: Control 4 Neeo vs SR-260: Which Smart Home Remote Wins?

Cut to the Chase

With its beautiful, ultra-thin bezel 3″ touchscreen high density [291 PPI] display, plus support for most entertainment and smart home devices, the Neeo helps you consolidate multiple remotes into a single elegant interface that fits in the palm of your hand.

My Neeo Remote [circa 2019]

The good

• Beautiful interface, similar to your smartphone
• Small size makes it easy to hold in your hand
• No apps required after setup
• Tactical buttons and a touchscreen
• Battery lasts 2-3 weeks with regular use (wow)
• Supports Bluetooth, Wifi, Z-Wave®, HDMI, CEC, and Infrared
• Excellent customer support
• Available at Amazon.com and eligible for Prime shipping

The bad

• Customers have reported some minor bugs with setup
• There is no backlight on physical buttons
• Neeo’s support for some devices is limited as of this writing. You can check to see which of your devices work with the remote on Neeo’s Device Compatibility page.

SEE IT AT AMAZON

Watch Out Logitech, Here Comes Neeo

The universal remote control market has long been dominated by one vendor, Logitech, and Logitech’s Harmony family of smart remote controls.

Newcomer Neeo is hoping to buck that trend with its new universal remote control.

Neeo calls it the Thinking Remote.

We think it’s pretty cool.

“Recipes” allow you to control multiple parameters such as volume, lighting, etc. You could potentially have a “movie” recipe that at the touch of a button dims the lights, lowers the blinds, fires up your soundbar, and launches Netflix.

Neat.

With the ability to control both home entertainment and smart home devices, Neeo is well-positioned to compete with the Logitech Harmony product line.

Neeo Vs Logitech Harmony Elite

You can read our full review comparing Neeo with Logitech Harmony Elite here:  Logitech Harmony Elite vs Neeo – Battle of the Ultimate Smart Home Remotes.

Meet Neeo’s Founder, Raphael

Check out this video from Neeo CEO and Founder Raphael Oberholzer demonstrating the remote at the ISE 2018 trade show in Europe:

Simple Setup, Cool Packaging, Great Support

Set up is simple and is done using your smartphone using an iOS or Android App.

People actually RAVE about the unboxing experience and the Neeo’s elegant packaging — saying they do an even better job than Apple.

Customers also rave about Neeo’s highly responsive customer support team.

Ultra High Density 3″ Smart Screen

The main highlight of this remote is its beautiful, full-color touchscreen that offers an ultra high-density display at 291 pixels per inch.

It really is quite stunning and nicer than other remotes we have tested, even the Logitech Harmony Elite.

Moreover, its compact size and solid aluminum composition makes holding it enjoyable and using it simple. It is much less bulky than the Harmony Elite.

The Brains Behind the Operation

The Neeo comes with its own smart hub called “The Brain.” The brain is what commands all of your Neeo connected devices. Neeo claims that the Brain is fully compatible with Apple TV, Hue, Sonos, Roku, and 60,000 additional devices. This means the devices you own will most likely work with it. Customers have said that it has an excellent range in connecting with your smart devices.

Broad Device Support

Neeo will work seamlessly with most newer entertainment and smart devices including:

• TVs
• Cable boxes
• Soundbars
• Game consoles
• Music systems
• Smart lights (Philips HUE, LIFX, IKEA TRÅDFRI etc.)
• Entertainment products like Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Google Chromecast, Sony
• PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Xbox One
• Smart home sensors & devices on Z-Wave, Wifi and many others

SEE IT AT AMAZON

You’ve Got Questions?

Does it work with Amazon Alexa?

Yes, here is the company’s response about Alexa integration: “NEEO’s current firmware is already working with Alexa. This integration was thought as a proof-of-concept only, but you can already now trigger NEEO recipes, even if they use different protocols such as Infrared, HDMI-CEC, IP or Z-Wave. The integration is very popular and shortly it will be even more powerful, as we’re working on a deep integration based on the Alexa Smart Home Skills. NEEO is evolving very fast and with every software update new integrations and features are added.”

Does it work with Direct TV?

Yes, its compatible with all versions.

What frequencies does it support?

The NEEO Brain communicates in the following frequencies: IR, WiFi, Bluetooth, Z-wave, ZigBee & 6LoW pan. The NEEO does not support RF.

Not Perfect…Yet

Although it is highly rated on Amazon, the Neeo Thinking Remote is not perfect.

And any remote control review worth its salt includes some cons as well as the pros.

So here goes:
Users have complained about issues with some devices including lack of support for Google Assistant and some have reported issues with Sonos compatibility. Others have complained that the physical buttons are not backlit, which makes it hard to maneuver in the dark. Also, there seems to be limited support for smart thermostat technology at the time of this writing. At least one user complained that the text on the buttons is too small and the same customer suggested that dedicated play, pause, rewind, and fast forward buttons would also be helpful.

But these issues surely won’t last. The company’s passionate founders and a world-class team of engineers based in Switzerland are sure to make this product a viable contender to Logitech Harmony for a long time to come.

Neeo Universal Remote Review: Your Turn

We hope you enjoyed our review of the Neeo smart universal remote control.

If you did not, will you please tell us why?  Or shoot, just leave a comment below, and let us know even if you enjoyed it.

Also, do you think you will buy the remote?  Leave a comment and let us know!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tim Brennan is a technology blogger and hosts the @TecTimmy YouTube channel. He writes about smart homes at oneSmartcrib, home theaters at UniversalRemoteReviews, and AI in writing at Writeinteractive. A graduate of Northeastern University School of Journalism, he has written about technology for 30 years. Tim lives on the ocean in Nahant, Massachusetts.