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Neither can currently display both indefinitely. The AVA doesn’t display volume at all. The UC has an overlay when adjusting volume if the device integration supports it.
Great information! Thank you!
Just realized I was kinda wrong but not entirely. The AVA can display volume when adjusted with the side buttons, but not via the d-pad. And it doesn’t adjust the volume of my StormAudio processor.
Nothing in my configuration. I think it's only going to work for integrations such as Spotify or Sonos, and not necessarily with specific hardware.
Another note for you on the AVA, since your equipment rack is in a separate room, if there are any devices that would require IR control you'd need an AVA Brain to blast that in your equipment room, which would be another $500 or so.First, both of these remotes look like very good offerings and it's good to see things ramping up in this space after such a void following Logitech's exit. As an outsider looking at potential options for additional rooms, here's a couple of quick notes from my perspective:
The Unfolded Circle remote as a product looks like a remote to me. It can be just a Universal Remote or you can tie it to something like Home Assistant to really open things up. Plus, it has a decent amount of buttons (20 w/17 customizable?) for what I consider a fair price (bundle at $500?).
The AVA remote looks like something bordering on a home automation product. Its reduced buttons and reliance on the screen gets pretty close to me holding my phone (13 buttons, 11 customizable?). But, the ability to do so much without Home Assistant is certainly appealing. However, at $1,300 dollars this is in an entirely different tier of product to me.
I believe Control4 is selling Halo Touch/Core Lite+ bundles for around $1,350. While you need to have someone add your equipment, if you buy the Home software you can pretty much do everything after that yourself. The Halo Touch has 27 buttons (23 customizable) and is likely the closest to a Harmony Elite in function (muscle memory will kick right in). Plus, should you choose to, you've basically built the foundation with one of the leading smart home vendors. This is actually an argument I used to make against Control4's remote bundles, but when AVA is kicking in at a similar price then the winds start to change.
I think the advantage that the AVA would have over a Control4 bundle is that it still can be small/simple and grow into more. But, that price is just something to get past (he types on a Kaleidescape forum).
Ok, yeah, we're firmly in home automation territory at that point. Crestron also has a single-room/remote bundle that's a bit pricier than Control4 but can be expanded to a "small home." But based upon price point I think the C4, Crestron, and AVA remotes would be more appropriate competitors. As-is, all three make the Unfolded Circle 3 look like a fantastic value (even with increases/tariffs/etc.).
The AVA Brain, officially marketed as the AVA Nano Brain, has a list price (MSRP) of $399 USD in the United States as of 2025.