[Rolli]

Hi,

i am facing the very same issue described above (“reactivate Deezer Premium”). Thus I can not get access to deezer within the B&O App (Version 4.8) Even though most recent Apple Software is installed and there is definitely nothing wrong with the deezer subscription itself.

I contacted B&O Support several month ago and in the end they were unable to resolve this issue. Their repeated answer: I should be patient … After a few month I contacted them again and the answer was again: we are sorry and I should be patient.

What can I say: Even though I am a B&O customer for decades and quite adore their products I am loosing faith if B&O aspiration of being a premium brand can cope with the quality and functionality of their products. The deezer incompatibility is not the first observation that brings me to the conclusion that B&O is taking a rather sad direction.

However: Thanks for bringing this up. At least now I know that I am not the only one facing this type malfunctioning. I would be glad if someone finds a trick how resolve this.
kind regards Rolli

[Rolli]

I also believe that this sums it up quite well.

I wonder if the upcoming introduction of the matter standard by B&O potentially will make the Halo a much more attractive option even at the current price point.

Imagine if the whole universe of smart home control that is currently only possible with the BLI would come to Halo without further costs due to compatibility with matter.

I believe Halo could become a very nice and attractive product for many B&O customers. Thus Halo could be a unique and elegant interface not only for audio (and video?) control but for the entire house. I could well imagine that B&O Halo in this case becomes a shining star within the product portfolio and a design icon for many years to come.

I own a halo myself. I like it for its simplicity, ease of use and elegance of the object itself. The product idea holds so much potential, but on a stand alone basis without BLI it does not really live up to what it could be. Even simple things that were possible in the good old times of Masterlink like setting an alarm or showing the time are not possible as far as I know.

The current BLI in my opinion is …

a) a very substantial investment (950 Euro for the box + potentially 690 USD for a software update to “Pro” Version if this is required).

b) not all that easy to install (normal users will have either to invest some time and effort to get all this installed by themselves or will need external assistance with even further cost)

c) not future proof: as BLI to my knowledge is currently not compatible with the matter standard it is not clear when this will be available and if it will require a software update only or if this will require a new hardware version.

From B&O perspective and economically speaking I ask myself if the customer base that is willing to pay a minimum of 1.700 Euro (Halo + BLI essential) or 2.340 Euro for the Pro Version (Halo + BLI + Pro update) for an integrated remote control is big enough to pay off not only the production cost and software maintenance expenses but also the development cost. Does anyone know how well the Halo/BLI combo sells ?

Let’s see where B&O is going with the matter standard. They now have the opportunity to do a lot of things right not only with regards to Halo. I keep my fingers crossed.

Kind regards

Rolli

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