Norwin wrote:

I like the Halo as its simple and my wife likes it as well. Can anybody let me know if 1.1.2824 is the latest firmware? Also if any of you can store more than one Deezer playlist as I somehow cannot whereas I can for TuneIn stations...

Regards,

Norwin

Beosound Halo, Beosound Core 2x, Beosound 1, Beosound M3 3x, Beolab 18, 19, 12-1, 4000, Beoplay H7, A1, Almando Multiplay Surround Switch

Thanks, updated now. Still I can only have one Deezer playlist as favorite stored and not more. Am I the only one or are there more out there with same issue (might be by design though but not sure)

That is the same logic I used. An iPhone SE also gets you the wireless charging at half the price. With the iPad Pro you can pretty much get a dock that makes it look like a Beosound Moment and yeah, it would still be cheaper than the Halo. I wish B&O had made the Halo the price of the old Essence Remote.

There *is* a significant difference, even if you feel the iOS device (whichever one you choose) is just as sleek & beautiful-looking as any Beo remote: The iOS device has a start-up time, and start-up update dialogs and etc.  *Lots* and lots of etc.  Even in the case where you lock it single-app, the &@#* Apple update notices must be cleared.  And to avoid start-up delay, & pressing buttons just to wake it, you must dock it 100% of the time so it's always-on, and be running a version of iOS that allows you to never let the screen sleep when on power-adapter.  This was a big complaint when Sonos bricked all their CR100 controllers and said, "just use the iDevice."  Their CR100s turned on instantly when you picked them up, and had battery life to sit out on the tabletop for weeks at a time.  Yes, $800 is stupid money for a limited-function remote control, but so is $9000 for Beolab 18s, or most any other B&O product except maybe the Stage (which lacks the sculptural quality of the Halo), some portable speakers & some headphones.  iOS devices pay for their versatility with "unwanted" (depending upon who you are and how you look at it) complexity.

If you turn notifications off you won’t get any messages at all. When I was using my iPhone X as the remote it had tap to open - so no pressing buttons etc. If anything with Hey Siri and Siri Shortcuts it is probably easier to use (for many) than a Halo, both my young daughter and wife have no problems using it for controlling music. In any case, my point is that the Halo is beautiful and I want it, but the cost is high. It’s the same reason why I didn’t upgrade my BeoLab 8002 with BeoLab 18s and instead added a Core and other streaming speakers around the house. But to each his own. I am sure with software updates the Halo will be great and worth it. At that point I’ll get it. 😊

Reading this thread I have to find out, that I am not the customer B&O is supporting / looking for.
A B&O customer has to use Deezer and should not expect that local MP3 files are easy assessable. For everybody else the advantages of B&O ecosystem (easy content access, displaying meta information, album cover) is not available.
When you have a local MP3 file library and using like me Tidal you have to stream via Airplay to your B&O loudspeaker e.g. Beosound 3500. The B&O ecosystem / NL is not supporting this scenario. And readying this thread, it does not sound that the remote Halo will support a wider range of customer scenarios either. Only you are already happy to own a remote for just changing volume, then the Halo is the device to go for.

HH1971 wrote:

When you have a local MP3 file library and using like me Tidal you have to stream via Airplay to your B&O loudspeaker

You are correct that the Halo would not be any improvement for this.  But maybe the DLNA method might help you to play your local files.

AnalogPlanet wrote:

Severed_Hand_of_Skywalker wrote:

Can literally ANYONE explain to me why it is better to get this thing vs:

Because it looks better than any alternative.

Thats a very relative answer. To me it looks like a Sharper Image lunchbox, but to each their own.

And I totally get the dedicated device and "looks cool". But the more I looked at it it makes no sense for me. I was also considering a Moment but that is possibly the worst product B&O has ever released both in reliability, features and price.

The way I have it set up is I have a tiny Yamaha amp with pre-outs stashed away in the cabinet. I connect all my devices to it including my B&O speakers and turntable. I also have another similar setup in the bedroom.

With this setup I can:

Use ANY iOS or even android device to tell the amp to play any source from any internet source, USB, local server etc. Anything.

These amps also support airplay and Yamaha's version called MusicCast so the same music is played on all sources in the house.

I have more than one iPad, in this photo I have this one usually sitting in this stand when I am not interacting with it. From it I can easily walk up to it swipe up to have it unlock and from there I can either use the Yamaha app (which is better than B&O's) or just have it play music to any one of the speakers in the house.

There are zero disadvantages to this vs the B&O method. In fact it works MUCH better and for a fraction of the cost. I only have to charge the iPad maybe twice a week TOPS.

Not to mention I can use the iPad (which costs the same as this Halo) do to millions of things with other than changing the volume and changing the music source. I can pick it up and carry it around the house like the moment to change tracks, or I can just use it to do other things like surf or email while at the same time controlling my music.

And in my opinion the iPad looks a lot better (and useful) than the Halo as it actually shows you lyrics or more controls.  If I had the halo lunch bucket sitting here for the same use I would lose tons of features for no advantage other than skipping a Lock Screen?

Severed_Hand_of_Skywalker wrote:

I have more than one iPad, in this photo I have this one usually sitting in this stand

I LOVE this look! Reminded me of the bar in "A Clockwork Orange" in 2020. Brilliant!