Flic Twist review: the ultimate all-in-one remote, button, and dimmer

Calling the Flic Twist a Matter-compatible remote control button doesn’t really do it justice. As we found in our Flic Buttons review, they were already clever, offering three actions from a single input. But the Twist takes things much further. It adds both a physical button and a rotating dial, turning it into something more akin to a hybrid dimmer, remote, and 12-mode function selector.

In effect, you can configure 12 different modes, each one supporting a button press, double press, and dial input. That’s 36 unique controls in one device. It’s a mind-blowing number of possible functions, all in the palm of your hand.

Matter-compatible… kind of

Both the Flic Button and the Twist advertise Matter compatibility. But this doesn’t mean you can add them directly to a Matter smart home controller via QR code like you might expect. Instead, they function as controllers for Matter-compatible devices. In other words, they control Matter devices through the Flic Hub — the devices themselves don’t integrate directly into your Matter network.

Out of the box, they can pair with your phone via Bluetooth LE, but that’s only useful in very limited cases. Realistically, you’ll need either the Flic Hub Mini or the Hub LR for a proper smart home setup, which adds another $30 to $50 to the cost. This review assumes you’re using them with a hub, as that’s the most typical and practical configuration.

The hub is small, discreet, and powered via micro USB. It connects via Wi-Fi or Ethernet. Interestingly, it also includes an infrared transmitter for controlling legacy IR-based devices and a 3.5mm audio jack to output custom sounds — useful if you want to create a smart doorbell or audio alert.

That said, the range is underwhelming. Even the LR (long range) model struggles. In testing, I found it could reach one room across or down and about halfway down a hallway. For larger homes, multiple hubs will be required. Each Flic device can only pair with one hub and doesn’t roam between them. So while it might sound like a remote you could carry around the house, in reality, that won’t work well for most users.

The Flic Twist hardware

The Twist is palm-sized, powered by AAA batteries, and can be handheld, wall-mounted, or magnetically attached to a surface. The central button feels solid and has a nice amount of resistance, preventing accidental presses while spinning the dial. Around the edge is an LED ring to indicate function and mode.

Hardware-wise, it feels excellent: weighty, well-built, and responsive. Optional mode label stickers (sold separately) can be attached around the edge—more on why those become essential later.

Configuration and modes

The configuration is slightly unusual. Like the Flic Button, the Twist supports press and double-press triggers. But on top of that, it introduces twist, and push-and-twist. Either can operate as an analog dimmer or scene blender. Push-and-twist, however, opens up something called “Advanced Selector” mode — effectively a 12-mode switch.

Here’s how it works:

• The device defaults to a “12 o’clock” mode.
• Press the button, keep it held down, and twist the dial to enter selector mode; the LED ring shows which mode is selected.
• Release to lock in that mode.
• From there, use press, double press, or twist to control devices.
• After five seconds of inactivity, it reverts to the default mode.

You get 1 default mode plus 11 additional ones, each with 3 actions (press, double press, twist). That gives you 24 triggerable actions, plus 12 analog dimmer options. And that’s before you even consider action sequences.

Flic Twist

The Flic Twist is a powerful smart home controller that combines a button, dial, and 12-mode selector to control up to 24 triggers and 12 dimmers from a single device.

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Each function can be set to trigger scenes, device groups, or sequences of actions. For example, a single press could turn on several lights, adjust their brightness, close blinds, lock the door, and start a music playlist. This applies to both the Twist and the original Buttons.

Integration and compatibility

Flic integrates with a wide range of platforms either directly or through services like IFTTT, HTTP web requests, and Matter. However, not everything works smoothly, and some inconsistencies crop up.

For instance:

• The analog twist function for lighting currently only works with Matter, Philips Hue, Ikea Dirigera, and LIFX. Nanoleaf is supported via button actions, but twist-based dimming isn’t possible. Curiously, you can set brightness levels for Nanoleaf via button presses, but not via analog control, which seems like an API limitation.
• While Nanoleaf, Hue, and LIFX are natively supported, Govee is not. Recent Govee lights with Matter support can be integrated, but older ones won’t work. And through Matter, you’re limited to single colors—no scenes, which you would get with native support.
• Spotify and Sonos integration is clunky. The Flic app suggests you can start Spotify playlists on Sonos speakers by adding them to your Sonos favourites, but not possible. You have to manually create a new Sonos playlist in the desktop app, add Spotify songs to it, and then trigger that playlist — a time-consuming and undocumented workaround.

Matter support is very basic. Standard lighting and on/off switches work. But more advanced devices such as the SwitchBot Curtains—which are exposed via the SwitchBot Matter bridge—were listed in the app without any labels or controls, making them unusable.

Most frustratingly, Flic devices can only act as Matter controllers, not Matter accessories. So while you can control (some of) your Matter devices with them, you can’t add the Flic Button or Twist into platforms like Apple Home or Home Assistant. This one-way integration runs counter to the goals of Matter, which promised interoperability.

Should you buy the Flic Twist?

The original Flic Buttons are useful, but it's hard to justify their $30 price tag, especially when considering the cost of hubs and the limited Bluetooth range. With just three inputs—press, double press, long press—the utility feels limited.

The Flic Twist, however, goes in the opposite direction. Despite the same range limitations, it justifies its $80 price tag (plus the hub) with excellent build quality and sheer flexibility. The hardware feels intuitive, the dial is tactile, and the ability to pack 24 triggers and 12 dimmers into one device is impressive. It's ideal for a room or setup where multiple devices need constant control, like a large living room. If you’re juggling scenes or find smartphone control clunky, the Twist offers an elegant, physical alternative.

It’s less suited for whole-home control, though. If you imagined carrying this around like a remote to control everything everywhere, you’ll be disappointed by the range. However, in a small apartment or a space with thin walls and central hub placement, it could still work portably.

Better value can be found in bundles that include a hub, a few Flic Buttons, and the Twist. But even purchased alone, the Flic Twist is a powerful and unique smart home controller (provided your devices are compatible).