Shortcut Labs Launches the Flic Twist, a Wire-Free Push-Twist Controller for a Simpler Smart Home
New gadget offers two-year runtime from two AAA batteries, broad compatibility, and a central push-button combined with rotating outer ring.
Swedish user interaction specialist Shortcut Labs has launched a crowdfunding campaign for the Flic Twist, a smart wire-free control dial designed to tie-in to existing smart home systems.
"We have made smart buttons for over seven years. A common problem we see with smart home setups is that family members often don't understand how to control it," claims Shortcut Labs co-founder Joacim Westlund Prändel. "Flic Twist is our dream of a perfect smart home controller. It bridges the gap between advanced users and tech-averse family members."
The compact dial has three interaction modes: A push of the central button; a twist of the outer ring; and an "advanced mode," which is unlocked by doing both at the same time. Using these, it claims to offer a range of possibilities: Scene blending, smart dimming, advanced dimming with custom triggers, a 12-stage selector, volume control, triggers, and more.
A key feature, though, only makes itself obvious at the installation stage: The Flic Twist is entirely wire-free and requires no permanent installation. It can be used on a table, in the palm of a hand, or attached to a wall using the bundled magnetic mount. For improved security, it can be attached with adhesive or screws too. Power is provided by two AAA batteries, which the company claims will run for up to two years of active use.
There is, however, a catch: The Flic Twist isn't a stand-alone product, but requires a Flic Hub LR or Flic Hub Mini central hub to operate. Where the Flic Twist is wire-free, the hubs are not — though these, at least, can be installed somewhere out-of-the-way where the cabling will not offend.
On the compatibility side, Shortcut Labs is offering compatibility with the Matter standard — meaning the Flic Twist should work out-of-the-box with Apple HomeKit, Google Home, Amazon Alexa, and more. AT launch, integrations include Nanoleaf, Philips Hue, LiFX, Wemo, Sonos, Samsung SmartThings, Spotify, IFTTT, Slack, and more.
This isn't Shortcut Labs' first tour of the crowdfunding circuit, though. The company launched a campaign for the more compact Flic 2 smart button back in 2019, as a follow-up to the earlier Flic 1, raising over $636,000 from over 5,000 backers — the majority of which, the company says, received their product successfully, despite some comments to the contrary on the campaign page.
"With Flic Twist, we add more options to your hands yet retain the simplicity of the original Flic button," Prändel claims. "In addition, with Flic Twist, we hope that we can engage all your family members and guests to interact with your smart home while giving you more options to control your smart home."
The Flic Twist campaign is now live on Kickstarter, having already raised over $550,000 at the time of writing.
Physical rewards begin at €79 (around $91) for a single dial — though that doesn't include the mandatory hub, at an additional $29.99 for the Flic Hub Mini or $99.99 for the Flic Hub LR — with shipping expected to take place in June next year.
