So I now have a Nuimo, not the one I ordered still but I have one.
I will do a more detailed considered review but there are my first impressions:-
Build quality is superb, almost to the point of over engineering. The rotate volume ring is just SO smooth with a great weighting too. Click top is good and the swipe gestures work well on the capacative screen. The "fly" gesturing is hit and miss. You should be able to wave you hand in the airspace above the unit to move tracks and change volume. This needs some more work as it is too easy to get to full volume and get stuck there. Yet to get it to change tracks with the gestures.
Learnings:-
The Nuimo is paired to your phone so you have to have that with you to control the sonos units.
The controls are currently limited to Play, Pause, Skip forward and back and then Volume.
You can use it for more than one sonos speaker or group, although I am not sure how to switch yet.
Some Improvements due:-
The sonos icon is a music note, but is apple music, ther needs to be some differentiation.
Gestures need to work more reliably.
Need ability to fast forward within a track, or skip 10 seconds say.
Overall I am slightly underwhelmed. The latest Sonos iphone app gives me lockscreen controls which do all the functions the Nuimo does. I need more time to play with it and see what improvements arrive.
CAVEAT
It is very early days for this product, the Software is very much beta so I would expect to see improvements over the coming months.
They have got the engineering right, and it's a joy to use and hold.
It's expensive if you are just using it for Sonos, but I have a Phillips Hue light too and waiting on other integrations.
Senic seem to be a responsive company trying to do things right.
John
Sonos and Senic Nuimo
Userlevel 7
+21
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As of the early August 2016 update of the firmware, the Nuimo still only barely works.
It looses connectivity after a while, the volume dial then does not work anymore until the music is paused and restarted.
While initially the controls respond instantly, after the first loss of connectivity, the controls start lagging for around a second (which of course makes it completely unusable to control music). This lagging behaviour stays until the Nuimo is switched off and on again.
The Nuimo frequently gets confused, most notably when using it together with the IOS Sonos app. One cannot avoid using the Sonos app though, since one wants to change music from time to time or add or remove favorites (the latter might be implemented in the Nuimo one day, the former will not).
I hope the get their act together and fix this eventually... or it'll be another failed kickstarter project for me. Whichever way it goes, I have now stopped supporting hardware on kickstarter. Too many bad experiences.
It looses connectivity after a while, the volume dial then does not work anymore until the music is paused and restarted.
While initially the controls respond instantly, after the first loss of connectivity, the controls start lagging for around a second (which of course makes it completely unusable to control music). This lagging behaviour stays until the Nuimo is switched off and on again.
The Nuimo frequently gets confused, most notably when using it together with the IOS Sonos app. One cannot avoid using the Sonos app though, since one wants to change music from time to time or add or remove favorites (the latter might be implemented in the Nuimo one day, the former will not).
I hope the get their act together and fix this eventually... or it'll be another failed kickstarter project for me. Whichever way it goes, I have now stopped supporting hardware on kickstarter. Too many bad experiences.
Userlevel 7
+21
I too am still not happy with this. It has improved with the latest firmware but it still has issues. The one mentioned by Toeman is the most infuriating in that whne the unit goes to sleep the only way to wake it is press a button, as the wheel does not wake the device. This would be fine if the firts button press woke the device but did not complete its action. However it doesn't and you end up inadvertently pausing the music and restarting.
Other thing to remember is that you have to have the Nuimo app active on your phone when using it, this is annoying as is the fact that is it attached to one phone. I have considered buying a very cheap Android phone to have plugged in in the room and linked to the Nuimo so that anyone can use it.
The Nuimo works well with Phillips Hue lights too, but they too suffer with the wake from sleep issue.
The gestures now work quite well, but I don't use the up down motion for volume as it is too sensitive but also nearly impossible to set a level and move you hand away without then changing that level. Left and right change track motions are good though, but gestures turn of whne the nuimo goes to sleep.
So given the cost it is not worth it yet, Senic seem to be quite slow now with changes and there are still only 4 integrated items, which given what is advertised on their site is very poor. Windows 10 integration would help enormously but I fear that is a long way off.
Other thing to remember is that you have to have the Nuimo app active on your phone when using it, this is annoying as is the fact that is it attached to one phone. I have considered buying a very cheap Android phone to have plugged in in the room and linked to the Nuimo so that anyone can use it.
The Nuimo works well with Phillips Hue lights too, but they too suffer with the wake from sleep issue.
The gestures now work quite well, but I don't use the up down motion for volume as it is too sensitive but also nearly impossible to set a level and move you hand away without then changing that level. Left and right change track motions are good though, but gestures turn of whne the nuimo goes to sleep.
So given the cost it is not worth it yet, Senic seem to be quite slow now with changes and there are still only 4 integrated items, which given what is advertised on their site is very poor. Windows 10 integration would help enormously but I fear that is a long way off.
And here is what Senic replied to my complaints:
Concerning Nuimo's standby mode: After 10 minutes goes into standby mode to save energy. To safe energy we turn off Nuimo's wheel because the wheel sensor uses an infrared light. If the ring doesn't respond because of Nuimo's standby, please simply touch Nuimo's surface. Please note that touch doesn't work directly on Nuimo's LED display, its touch fields are on the left, right, above and below the LED display. We've added this feature in Nuimo firmware version 2.2.2. You can check your firmware version by opening the app's side menu and – while Nuimo is connected – swipe "My Nuimo" to the left. It will reveal a red "Details" button that shows the firmware version. The latest firmware is 2.2.3.
Concerning the question mark LED matrix: The question mark appears on Nuimo's LED display if you accidentally swipe up on Nuimo's surface. We'll eventually change this behavior so that swiping up also changes the active device that you control. Additionally the question mark appears if no device is added to Nuimo app – can you please verify that your Nuimo app has only one Nuimo added (see app's side menu) and that Nuimo has devices added?
Concerning Nuimo's standby mode: After 10 minutes goes into standby mode to save energy. To safe energy we turn off Nuimo's wheel because the wheel sensor uses an infrared light. If the ring doesn't respond because of Nuimo's standby, please simply touch Nuimo's surface. Please note that touch doesn't work directly on Nuimo's LED display, its touch fields are on the left, right, above and below the LED display. We've added this feature in Nuimo firmware version 2.2.2. You can check your firmware version by opening the app's side menu and – while Nuimo is connected – swipe "My Nuimo" to the left. It will reveal a red "Details" button that shows the firmware version. The latest firmware is 2.2.3.
Concerning the question mark LED matrix: The question mark appears on Nuimo's LED display if you accidentally swipe up on Nuimo's surface. We'll eventually change this behavior so that swiping up also changes the active device that you control. Additionally the question mark appears if no device is added to Nuimo app – can you please verify that your Nuimo app has only one Nuimo added (see app's side menu) and that Nuimo has devices added?
Mine's just arrived today and I can fully attest to, and confirm, all the above. It’s a great build, and useful for touch swiping, but the hover gestures are impossible to control especially when pulling your hand away which usually launches another action or turns the volume to full blast. I can confirm that the touching the surface to the side of the LED does awaken the unit without initiating an action (e.g. switching lights off or stopping/starting music), but there is a lag of varying length. Am hoping future updates help resolve these issues and provide integration to more apps (e.g. to SmartThings or Nest). The potential to programme this unit to easily control for a range of smart apps remains large, so I remain hopeful this has been a worthy investment.
Mine arrived on Friday. The build quality if top notch. I was not aware that it needed to be tied to an iOS device, which is a bummer. I emailed the company and they admitted that they did not do a great job with making that clear, and will be more clear. I have an "extra" iPhone 6 so it will remain dedicated to the Nuimo. The gestures are barely hit or miss, so I turned them off. I have to say it's great to have it in our remodeled bathroom. I can just press the unit ti start music in there, and adjust the volume, etc, without having the Sonos controller or iPhone with me. (I have the old controller that is losing more and more features -- I still like it better than the iOS app).
UPDATE - So, I've had the Nuimo a few days. Here are my thoughts:
1. Since I have an extra iOS device, I have it set up for use as a SONOS controller and for the Nuimo.
2. The iOS device is off, on a charging cradle next to the bed. The Nuimo is still connected by Bluetooth, so I can just walk into the bathroom and press it to start the music. Even with the iOS device off, the required connection is there. This is very cool! It's much easier to start music this way, and easier for my wife.
3. Yes, you have to choose which music to stream from a SONOS controller, but once you do, the Nuimo is very nice.
4. I do not see how to group SONOS zones together on the Nuimo....but perhaps if the are grouped on the SONOS controller, the Nuimo will control the volume to all ... I will test that out.
5. Gestures on the Nuimo need work -- hit ore miss -- hopefully a software update will solve that issue.
6. Build quality is top-notch. Very impressive. The volume control is smooth as silk.
1. Since I have an extra iOS device, I have it set up for use as a SONOS controller and for the Nuimo.
2. The iOS device is off, on a charging cradle next to the bed. The Nuimo is still connected by Bluetooth, so I can just walk into the bathroom and press it to start the music. Even with the iOS device off, the required connection is there. This is very cool! It's much easier to start music this way, and easier for my wife.
3. Yes, you have to choose which music to stream from a SONOS controller, but once you do, the Nuimo is very nice.
4. I do not see how to group SONOS zones together on the Nuimo....but perhaps if the are grouped on the SONOS controller, the Nuimo will control the volume to all ... I will test that out.
5. Gestures on the Nuimo need work -- hit ore miss -- hopefully a software update will solve that issue.
6. Build quality is top-notch. Very impressive. The volume control is smooth as silk.
Userlevel 7
+21
1. Since I have an extra iOS device, I have it set up for use as a SONOS controller and for the Nuimo.
2. The iOS device is off, on a charging cradle next to the bed. The Nuimo is still connected by Bluetooth, so I can just walk into the bathroom and press it to start the music. Even with the iOS device off, the required connection is there. This is very cool! It's much easier to start music this way, and easier for my wife.
By iOS device off you mean it is on but in standby with screen off. If you physically turn of the iOS device the Nuimo will not work.
I have been using mine for a month or two now. Software and Firmware updates have helped a lot and the Facebook feedback page seems to work better than the old support forum.
My advice to anyone considering a Nuimo is to be sure to budget for a cheap dedicated android or iOS device to permanently pair with The Nuimo. This device can be hidden in a drawer or out of sight if needed. If you pair with you primary phone you will always need that device with you, this makes the Nuimo redundant for other family members when you are not around.
By "off" I mean the phone screen is off, the phone is powered on, and it sits on a cradle. I don't anyone who actually powers their phone down daily! But my comment did need clarification. Thanks!.
I'm lucky to have an extra device, but not everyone does. If you have your Nuimo in a room close to where your iPhone/Android typically is, then it's less of an issue. For me, the Nuimo is in our bedroom and my iPhone usually is in the kitchen.
Since I posted above, the Nuimo is working as a charm. I'm hoping that a software update makes fly gestures useable, but even if not, the device works nicely.
I'm lucky to have an extra device, but not everyone does. If you have your Nuimo in a room close to where your iPhone/Android typically is, then it's less of an issue. For me, the Nuimo is in our bedroom and my iPhone usually is in the kitchen.
Since I posted above, the Nuimo is working as a charm. I'm hoping that a software update makes fly gestures useable, but even if not, the device works nicely.
I agree with most of the above. Build quality is impressive. The software, and thus functionality, needs a lot of work.
Userlevel 7
+21
Mine has died. Battery life is about 30mins. A lot less than the 3 months mooted. Also when doing all songs shuffle the next track gesture moves to the next track but pauses. Think this is probably due to low battery.
Now waiting on Scenic support.
Now waiting on Scenic support.
Now waiting on Scenic support.
Yes, battery is not great....a lot less than they say....there have been some firmware updates that have made fly gestures somewhat better, but I prefer not using them. Charging it once every week or so is not an issue for me. Very happy with it so far.
Userlevel 7
+21
O.k., longer term update.
Impressed with the team at Scenic, responsive to ideas and fixes. I now have my Nuimo corrected to an Amazon fire hd6. This resides permanently in the room connected to the Nuimo meaning anyone can use the Nuimo and at £28 the fire tablet was a steal on Amazon warehouse. It also means I have a device to make into a wall controller.
The Nuimo has had a few firmware upgrades too. Wake up from idle can be done by a touch...not a click...either side of the led and with no interruption to music. Time to idle is still a little short though. Fly gestures are better and no leap to max volume anymore.
Generally it is a great piece of kit and I would miss it if it were gone, which is always the acid test. The feedback group though facebook seems to work better to.
Impressed with the team at Scenic, responsive to ideas and fixes. I now have my Nuimo corrected to an Amazon fire hd6. This resides permanently in the room connected to the Nuimo meaning anyone can use the Nuimo and at £28 the fire tablet was a steal on Amazon warehouse. It also means I have a device to make into a wall controller.
The Nuimo has had a few firmware upgrades too. Wake up from idle can be done by a touch...not a click...either side of the led and with no interruption to music. Time to idle is still a little short though. Fly gestures are better and no leap to max volume anymore.
Generally it is a great piece of kit and I would miss it if it were gone, which is always the acid test. The feedback group though facebook seems to work better to.
yeah, it's much smoother UX now that they have the hub and we can finally use it without keeping it connected to my phone. they started posting developer updates on their website... pretty decent progress IMHO: www.senic.com/updates
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