Control4’s New OS 3 Sets New Benchmarks in Usability and Personalization
Control4 hit the home automation scene with a bang in 2003. Since then, they have continued to evolve their smart home platform to work with over 13,000 consumer devices, more than any other vendor. Their systems have always been designed to be easy to use for both novices and the tech-savvy.
Even if you have but a passing interest in the area, you’ll know that smart home technology is moving forward at a rapid clip. Control4 recognizes the leaps ahead in technology as well as the intensifying competition in the smart home space. In building their next-generation system, they’ve paid attention to both existing customers and the competition to create an even better version of the platform, called OS 3.
Control4 has always been recognized as the system that works with (almost) everything. It connects to consumer technology and smart devices like Google Nest thermostats, Sonos audio gear, Amazon Alexa voice assistants, as well as integrating precise control and automation of thousands of audio-visual products, to name a few.
With OS 3, Control4 decided to focus on making the system yet more customizable and easy to use. With over 1000 enhancements to the software, Control4 aims to deliver the ultimate smart home experience. So if you already have a Control4 smart home system in Charlottesville – or are looking into one – you’ll want to read further about this exciting new update.
See Also: Looking Forward to 2019 with Control4
Customization for the Way You Live
Control4 has carefully redesigned the user interface of the system, taking the best of their simplified navigation but adding the latest features that people have become accustomed to in the best mobile and tablet apps. Personalization of the system to your liking is easier than ever. Specific rooms can be placed front and center as favorites, as well as your most used functions. So if whole home music is the thing you use most often, it can be right there for you with no digging through cumbersome menus. You can drag and drop elements to customize the interface to your liking, whether it’s lights, entertainment, climate control, or anything else that your system can manage. For better visuals, even the wallpaper is customizable with a photo of your room.
A Polished Entertainment Experience
With OS 3, control of your entertainment systems is more intuitive and visual. In one screen, you can see the album art from the track that’s playing, volume controls, and a simplified view of what content is playing in what location. Importantly, the experience is consistent no matter what device you are using for control, whether it’s in the mobile app or the dedicated Control4 touch screen. If you need to mute or pause any area for a phone call, one quick tap makes it easy.
If you are an audiophile, or just appreciate high audio quality, Control4 has added support for MQA to their whole home audio products. MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) is a special encoding format that allows high-resolution audio streaming from music services like Tidal, making for an audible improvement in sound quality.
If you prefer the tried-and-true handheld remote control to control your entertainment system, the interface has been optimized to make it faster to get to the content you want to hear or watch through the onscreen interface. The onscreen interface also makes it easy to get to other smart functions like thermostats and motorized shades, so you have yet another way to control your home without fumbling with multiple remote styles.
Controlling Your World with Simplicity
One of the beauties of smart home automation is knowing the status of your systems at a glance. With OS 3’s new interface, it’s easier than ever to understand what’s happening. Smart locks show as locked or unlocked as an icon, lights are grayed out if they’re off, and your thermostat will display the numeric temperature at a glance. All these enhancements, small and large, add up to something much greater than the sum of the parts – a smart home system you will be happy to use for the long term.
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