The SofaBaton X2 is the distant I have been on the lookout for my entire life

Ever since I added a receiver and Apple TV 4K to my lounge, I have been cursed with having too many remotes. I’ve my receiver’s distant, my TV’s distant, and my Apple TV’s distant. It was a jumbled mess of issues, and I typically had to make use of a mix of all three to get to the place I needed to go. For a very long time, I simply put up with it, however that is all modified with the SofaBaton X2.

Common remotes have been round for a few years, however I do not assume I’ve ever seen one fairly like this. For starters, the SofaBaton X2 has a contact display screen on it that lets me simply change between units I management, and it’s totally intuitive when you get all of it arrange. I will not lie — there have been some bumps within the street. The setup course of was far more tough and longer than I would hoped. Nonetheless, as soon as I received previous all that, the outcome was greater than price it. I can lastly put away my further remotes.

Credit score: SofaBaton/Amazon

4.5/5

Model

SofaBaton

Integrations

IR, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi

Battery

USB-C

Built-in Display

Sure

Execs & Cons

• Good high quality
• Connects to many units
• Contact display screen
• Lengthy battery life
• Plenty of customization

• Lengthy setup course of
• Heavy
• No voice controls

Value, specs, and availability

Let me get this out of the way in which straight away — the SofaBaton X2 just isn’t an inexpensive distant. You should buy the distant from SofaBaton directly or on Amazon, however the worth is $360 irrespective of the place you are shopping for from, barring any gross sales. With a worth that rivals a price range TV, that is definitely one thing for fans, however I would argue that is what it is designed for. There’s little to no purpose for any person to choose this distant up simply to make use of it with a single TV and no exterior units. That is one thing meant to regulate many units without delay, and it is priced as such.

What I like in regards to the SofaBaton X2 distant

It makes the whole lot simpler

The SofaBaton X2 looks like a high quality distant, and it is a huge step up from the likes of the Roku or Fireplace TV remotes. After all, on the worth, that is to be anticipated. The X2 has a contact display screen that makes navigation very simple, and you’ll simply change between your linked units relying on what you need to management. I’ve my Apple TV 4K, my TV, and my receiver all linked to the distant, and I haven’t got any points in anyway.

Since there’s a big contact display screen, I figured battery life can be a difficulty, however it hasn’t been in any respect. I arrange my distant about two weeks in the past on the time of this writing and nonetheless have not needed to cost it. Talking of charging, you’ll be able to cost your SofaBaton X2 with a USB-C cable, or you may use the docking station that is akin to an previous landline cellphone. Each work, and if you’d like, you may merely dock your distant every day to make sure you’re at all times at a full cost.

You may also arrange actions on the distant that make a wide range of steps occur with a single button press. I’ve only one for the time being, however what it does is activate my Apple TV 4K, my receiver, and my TV all on the similar time. On high of that, it switches my TV’s enter to HDMI 3, so I am up and working with all my units in just a few seconds. It is a good characteristic that saves plenty of time and sofa house, since I can do away with further remotes.

There are many further buttons on the distant you’ll be able to map to features, so you’ll be able to completely get rid of the necessity for one more distant for those who’re affected person sufficient to remap the whole lot. In case you’re lazy, you’ll be able to simply use the contact display screen and undergo menus to do the identical factor. Each choices work simply high-quality. If vary is an issue, you’ll be able to snag the R1 vary extender, however I have not had a necessity for that. The common receiver works simply high-quality for me, and its small form-factor design is not practically as distracting as the larger ball of the R1 is.

What I do not like in regards to the SofaBaton X2 distant

Lots of minor issues

There’s nothing that is flat out a deal breaker for me, however there are just a few smaller issues with my X2 distant that I believe are price mentioning. The very first thing I observed was that this distant is way heavier than something I’ve used earlier than. It is not an enormous deal, however it’s one thing I really feel each time I choose it up.

One thing I love to do rather a lot with my Apple TV distant is use the voice controls, particularly after I’m looking for one thing particular on YouTube. The SofaBaton X2 would not have a built-in mic for voice controls, so I’ve to kind the whole lot in myself. That is truly a second the place the Fireplace TV’s Alexa hands-free voice controls come in useful. What this implies I have to preserve my Apple TV distant useful for these moments. You may get round this by having a Google House or Alexa machine close by that is synced to your distant, however sadly, I do not.

Finally, the most important downside I bumped into was the preliminary setup. That is removed from a plug-and-play possibility, and I needed to undergo a firmware replace with the distant earlier than I received to make use of it. You do a lot of the setup by means of the app, and the distant did include a set of directions that had been simple to comply with, however it was time-consuming. You need to do a check of all of the units you are connecting to ensure the distant controls them, and it wasn’t that prolonged for me since I solely had three, however I think about any person connecting many units would have an extended day forward of them.

Must you purchase the SofaBaton X2 distant?

In case you can afford to, then positive

I’ve by no means used a common distant earlier than I received my fingers on the X2, and now I can not think about a world the place I will not use one. It is so good to regulate the whole lot with one distant, and it means I can put my legs up on my ottoman as a substitute of additional remotes. Certain, issues like voice controls are lacking, however I believe it is a worthy tradeoff.

Value is what this all boils right down to for a lot of. If I needed to spend my very own cash on this distant with out testing it first, I doubt I might’ve accomplished it. Now that I understand how seamless it makes the whole lot, I believe I would splurge. I can not deny that every one the issues it does make my viewing expertise significantly better, however it’s simple to think about higher methods to spend $360. This distant is geared towards individuals who need to take their house theater expertise to the subsequent degree, and anybody who has dumped a whole lot and even hundreds of {dollars} into their setups will not balk on the excessive price ticket.

The value you pay is for comfort, and the SofaBaton X2 provides you plenty of it. Is it $360 price it? I believe that’ll boil down to non-public desire. In case you’re on the lookout for a substitute to your Logitech Harmony, for instance, then yeah, I would say this delivers. I’ve by no means tried out that distant myself, and I do know many individuals have a look at it fondly, however contemplating Logitech has dropped assist for the distant, the SofaBaton X2 has taken the throne as the present king in the marketplace.

4.5/5

Model

SofaBaton

Integrations

IR, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi

Battery

USB-C

Built-in Display

Sure