The Bottom Line
Introduction & Pricing
Who Is Neue?
Neue is a brand you've never heard of until today and that's for a good reason: Neue is new, and Neue also translates to "new" in German (and is pronounced noy-yuh). Neue is a subsidiary of legendary gaming chair company Secretlab, with Neue specializing in computer mesh chairs and launching something that really throws Neue to an entire new level.
Secretlab is a company I'm sure most of you have heard of, with some of the best gaming chairs on the market with three different product lines: THRONE, OMEGA, and TITAN. The company recently launched its new SoftWeave fabric-based versions of these chairs, providing even more options to gamers. But there are some gamers who might want a mesh chair, or someone like me who wants an office chair - or again like me, wants both.
This is where Neue steps in as there are not many who will spend the $699-$799 price that the new NeueChair commands... but then there are plenty that will splash down this much on a chair they sit on 8, 10, 12, 16 hours a day on. There are also some that will buy both; a NeueChair and a Secretlab gaming chair and switch between them. This is something I've been doing with my week, switching between the NeueChair and the Secretlab TITAN SoftWeave gaming chair.
Pricing & Availability
The new NeueChair is available right now as well as the Secretlab website with a gigantic 12-year limited warranty and comes in two different variants:
- NeueChair Silver - $699 discounted to $549 for Neue's launch and Black Friday sales
- NeueChair Obsidian - $799 discounted to $649 for Neue's launch and Black Friday sales
Ergonomic Adjustments: Neue Style
Only The Best
Secretlab doesn't do anything by halves, and this energy flows directly into Neue with the company using "industry-leading, next-generation manufacturing technology" to make the NeueChair. The company uses the best components, adds the best most useful features, and crafts one of the most feature laden, next level chairs my butt has ever had the pleasure of sitting on.
Ergonomic Adjustments
Neue has put a ton of engineering effort into the NeueChair and it pays off in every single area, from the look and style of the packaging and the chair itself, right down to the adjustments you have at your actual fingertips. You don't want to be sitting on a $600-$700 chair for hours and hours on end and find yourself uncomfortable, right? This is where Neue hits its stride, so let's walk through what you have to tweak on the NeueChair.
ControlShift: This is one of the best parts of the NeueChair experience in my opinion; ControlShift. There are two ControlShift levers that are found below each of the armrests. Adjusting the one on the left will unlock the backrest tilt for some ultimate adjustment, while the ControlShift lever on the right will let you control how high or low the NeueChair is used.
Focus Mode: This is something I didn't spend as much time using, but it is an awesome feature built into the NeueChair and is at your disposal with the each adjustment of one of the ergonomic adjustments found in the chair. Focus Mode is exactly how it sounds: increased focus from adjusting the seating position of the chair into Focus Mode.
This is super easy to do as well, as you can just slide the seat base inwards by pressing the button found on the left side of the seat base, and then you can also push the backrest forward for ultimate focus. Neue is doing well here as it provides the best ergonomic support for when you need those cramming sessions... like I do right now, writing the review on the NeueChair. You'd be surprised how much this changes the energy of the chair... it might not sound like much, but once you've done it you'll understand how beneficial this little touch is.
Ergonomic Support: Neue Style
Ergonomic Support
It's not just the ergonomic adjustments that Neue made to its first chair, but ergonomic support is important when the price is this high: things need to be near perfect. But don't worry, Neue quite literally has your back with some of the best support you can get for your back, neck, and shoulders. It'll even improve your posture over time, and create new ways of sitting that you might find comfortable, or to give yourself a little stretch.
NeueMesh: NeueMesh is one of the best parts of the NeueChair and one of my personal favorites for many reasons. The new NeueMesh is wrapped around the NeueChair's polyamide frame, and is tested heavily to ensure you get the best support for your back. Better yet, it is breathable so for hotter environments like here in Australia (where I'm based) it is perfect.
For those super long gaming sessions either on your own or like in my office, with multiple people and multiple gaming rigs heating up the room, the breathable NeueMesh makes a big, big difference.
Lumbar support: Lumbar support is important for chairs and even more scrutinized on expensive chairs like the NeueChair, but Neue has provided fully adjustable and tailored lumbar support with the NeueChair. You can adjust the height and the depth of lumbar support on the chair so you get a personal perfection on the NeueChair.
Neue provides easy access to adjusting the lumbar support on the NeueChair, with buttoms to press on the backrest that let you move it towards or away the control the depth and pronunciation of cushioning for your lower back. Thanks for the great comfort, Neue!
PU-coated armrests: There are some people that use the armrests on chairs a lot, so Neue has looked after the armrests with PU-coated goodness that aren't just strong, but comfortable. Resting your elbows for minutes or hours on the armrests isn't a chore with the NeueChair, with the padding nice and soft - you won't slip off them, either!
Final Thoughts
I work a lot. Like, a lot a lot. This means I'm also sitting down a hell of a lot, so a comfortable chair is important but it has to be built right as well. Comfortable chairs are easy to find, but exquisitely made high-end premium office chairs that redefinine office chairs themselves... well, they're harder to come by, that is until the NeueChair.
Secretlab continue to make some of the best gaming chairs on the market, but now Neue has entered the market we have a complete pole reversal on what the benchmark of office chairs is. The NeueChair is a breath of Neue air that has been needed for decades, and it feels like something that has been so obviously missing, but no one really put their stamp on it.
The entire gaming chair market is saturated and it's getting harder and harder to be unique, but the market for premium office chairs is not dominated by any one large name in the mainstream market. Sure, there are high-end office chairs out there but if Neue makes the right moves it could become the new name of premium office chairs, and it deserves it. The NeueChair is a work of art in office chairs.
Neue has come out onto the premium office chair market and all but dominated, so it'll be interesting to see where we go from here. What improvements can Neue make to a new Neue chair (see what I did there?) and will there be more competition from Secretlab-like gaming chair companies against the NeueChair. I'd love to see the market heat up like the gaming chair market, as there are some seriously kick ass gaming chairs on the market now.