This morning, Control4 lifted the lid on its biggest OS update yet. The new OS 3 represents not merely a massive overhaul of the look and feel of the Control4 user interface and experience, but also adds a number of personalization options--like custom wallpapers and a new feature called "Favorites" that allows the homeowner to reorganize the UI in truly meaningful ways--but it also adds gobs of new functionality. Just to name a few: native MQA support, coordinate shade control, new filters for lighting control that allow you to see at a glance only the loads that are currently on in and around the house, and a new Active Media Bar that makes multi-room distributed AV intuitive at levels we've never seen before.
That's literally just scratching the surface, though. Read on for full details on this gargantuan OS 3 release:
Control4 Corporation (NASDAQ: CTRL), a leading global provider of smart home solutions, today announces Control4 Smart Home OS 3. Control4 Smart Home OS 3 is designed to unify hundreds of connected devices within the home, control them all from a single platform, deliver the personalization homeowners want, and facilitate the professional support smart home technology needs.
The modern smart home made simple and intuitive.
Control4 Smart Home OS 3 is designed to simplify the use of many connected devices throughout the home, exceeding expectations for how people live with technology. OS 3 offers more than a thousand new features and capabilities including fluid, refined, and intuitive interfaces providing one-touch control for favorite devices and scenes, at-a-glance views for security and lighting, one-touch music and video streaming, and more, all in a singular platform across Control4 and third-party products.
It's all just smart stuff without a Smart Home OS.
The industry is at a tipping point; pundits are forecasting by 2020 there will be 13 billion connected devices in today's homes. The rapid introduction of these products fractures the smart home ecosystem and compounds complexity. Disparate smart devices don't work together nor meet the promise of easy, convenient or better, and consumers and their families have been left frustrated.
"The Control4 Smart Home OS is designed to remove complexity," said Control4 Senior Vice President of Products and Services Charlie Kindel. "Every home is a mix of products from a variety of companies, a Smart Home OS embraces this reality, providing broad choice rather than creating a collection of tiny walled gardens that limit homeowners."
Boasting a broad and deep ecosystem, Control4 OS 3 brings support for more than 13,500 third-party devices and 7,500 Control4 SDDP-embedded products. Built as smart home infrastructure, OS 3 scales to the needs of the family, whether it's a single-room entertainment experience or a whole-home automation system in a mansion.
Control4 Smart Home OS 3 enriches the real-life connected home experience. By aiming to encompass all of the home's connected devices, it breaks through many of the barriers of smart home adoption. "There is a delight--almost a sense of magic--when technology comes together and genuinely enhances our lives," said Charlie. "And right now, only Control4 Smart Home OS 3 can deliver on that promise for the home."
Smart living is installed by professionals and personalized by owners.
Achieving the elegance and sophistication homeowners want requires the experience of a professional installer. But only a family knows the nuances of their day-to-day lifestyles. Control4 Smart Home OS facilitates professional installation to make sure everything works together, while empowering families to make their smart home experience uniquely their own.
"For more than 15 years Control4 has held steadfast in the belief that meeting the expectation of a true smart home requires professional installation," stated Control4 Chairman and CEO Martin Plaehn. "We have relentlessly built a network of trained professionals, and today Control4 has more than 200 Control4 Certified Showrooms where consumers can walk in and experience OS 3. Control4 has nearly 6,000 Authorized Dealers, OS 3 leverages the talent and skill of tens of thousands of smart home pros around the world to install, update, and manage smart home technology for families."
Control4 Smart Home OS 3 Highlights:
Building on years of operational experience, Control4 Smart Home OS 3 brings new levels of thoughtful design to raise expectations for smart homes.
Control4 Smart Home OS 3 is available now through Control4 Authorized Dealers. Control4 Smart Home OS 3 information can be found here. Homeowners and professionals are invited to get hands-on with Control4 Smart Home OS 3 at their nearest Control4 Certified Showroom location for C4Yourself Day worldwide on June 13 from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. local time.
For more information on Control4 visit www.control4.com.