NeueChair Hands-On Review: The Best Office Chair Out There?

If you have been in love with the Secretlab gaming chairs but never got to order one because of their explicit “gaming” design, this review is for you.

UPDATE: With a seamless blend of functionality and style, the NeueChair has earned the coveted title of “Best for Office” in our Ultimate Buyer’s Guide. This chair embodies a premium and professional aesthetic, coupled with ergonomic design, making it an ideal choice for those seeking optimal comfort in a work environment. The NeueChair exemplifies how a chair can offer both utility and a modern look, providing a refined seating experience for office use. For an extensive review of the NeueChair and to explore other top-tier office-friendly options, check out our Ultimate Buyer’s Guide.

Secretlab NeueChair – Pro and Cons List

NeueChair Review at a glance

Unlike most of the SecretLab chairs so far, this is not a gaming chair. Instead, the NeueChair depicts a standard office chair with sturdy industrial design and without any symbols, logo placements or colors. In a nutshell, the SecretLab NeueChair is a standard-looking office chair with increased capabilities.

I had the opportunity to try the NeueChair at home for a few days and actually finish some work I had delayed off for months. In my experience, the NeueChair is great for work – it has an ergonomic design with firm support and is specifically designed for office environments. With SecretLab being one of the most popular brands in the gaming chair industry, I am not surprised to see this level of comfort in the NeueChair.

Below, I am listing more details about the SecretLab NeueChair and telling you everything you need to know about this office chair.

Note: the chair was provided by Secretlab.

Packaging and Assembly

Even though I love unboxing the SecretLab chairs, I must say that the NeueChair packaging disappointed me from the moment I saw the box arriving at my doorstep.

As you can see from the photo above, the package I received was literally open!

I still do not know who to blame for this, but I suspect that it may either be a fault with the delivery service (they were probably not very careful with it) or a faulty package by the manufacturer.

The good news was that nothing was damaged or missing. Inside, all of the components of this office chair were well packaged and protected.

Once I unboxed everything and got the parts out of their bags, I started assembling this chair.

What you should know here is that the assembly process is way simpler than on any gaming chair I have ever mounted.

This is why that is the case:

• There are only three main things you need to connect together: the seat, the base and the piston
• There are no screws and bolts that you need to use
• The assembly is toolless (no tools required) which makes it fast
• The instructions are clear and well detailed with the giant assembly sheet coming together with the box

I assembled the SecretLab NeueChair in less than 5 minutes! This is probably a chair that is up and ready in minutes, beating many of its competitors. 

Still, I must point out that the wheels were a bit hard to attach to the base. Other than that, the entire assembly process is smooth and unlike anything I have experienced so far.

Now, let’s go through the main features of the NeueChair and see how everything works.

NeueChair: Main Features

There are plenty of things which impress me on the NeueChair and make me think that this is one of the best office chairs on the market.

Below, I am listing all of the features on the NeueChair and explaining how they work.

Armrests: Moving Them Up And Down

The NeueChair office chair has 2D armrests, which means that they can be moved in two main ways: up and down and a rotation movement, too.

The process of rotating them is straightforward – all you need to do is twist the armrests in the direction you like. There are three positions including neutral, inward or outward orientation.

The only tricky part comes when you are adjusting the height of the NeueChair. Here, you need to only pull on it to make it go up by a notch. But if you try to lower it afterward, you cannot just push it back (each notch locks the armrest so it doesn’t go lower).

So, to go lower, you need to push the armrest all the way up, where the mechanism releases. At this point, the armrest will go all the way down until you can’t lock it anymore. Once it’s back down, you can adjust the height in the standard way.

All in all, adjusting the height of the 2D armrests on the NeueChair might be a bit too complicated. I would definitely prefer a simpler method in the future.

Back And Lumbar Support

When it comes to back and lumbar support, SecretLab’s NeueChair did not disappoint me.

It is easy to adjust the angle between the back and the seat with two buttons on the side of the chair. This way you can adjust the strength of the lumbar support to your needs.

You have to press both sides to adjust the angle. There are essentially two modes:

• The focus mode, where the back is slightly tilted
• The relax mode, where the back is straight

That said, the NeueChair mechanism is totally unique and different from what I have seen on racing-style gaming chairs.

Rocking Mechanism

I would describe the rocking mechanism in the NeueChair as “quite sophisticated.”

The trigger on the left armrest lets you release or lock the mechanism. This is a nifty touch by SecretLab, and I must say that the trigger feels great to use.

Again, this is one of those features I did not expect to see and something that exceeded my expectations.

Adjusting The Seat

You can adjust the position of the seat by using the button located on the left. This allows you to move the seat back and forth.

The range of moving is not that big. If you are taller than usual, you would probably have to position the seat all the way forward. The good news is that you can also adjust the height of the chair with the right trigger on the armrest.

All of these features clearly show that the SecretLab NeueChair gives you plenty of customization options and lets you adapt this office chair to your body so that you feel comfy.

The only part I don’t like (as I said above) are the armrests and their adjustment – I was hoping to see 4D armrests that move in all directions.

NeueChair: Build Quality

As you know, I love accenting the build quality in every gaming chair that I review.

Since this is an office chair, I must say that the NeueChair has a great built quality.

It even gave me the impression of a higher-end chair, especially through its aluminum alloy and mirror finish of the structure and base.

Simply put, this office chair looks gorgeous in real life and if you are wondering whether it would fit in well in your office, you should not have any doubts – it has the premium segment that you are probably looking for.

The wheels are the same as the one in the SecretLab Titan, which is both good and bad. The good thing is that they are solid and will last, but I must admit that they look a bit dull compared to the rest.

When it comes to sturdiness and how all of these elements fit together, again I must say that everything is on point and the NeueChair feels sturdy and strong.

Despite the complex mechanisms and numerous customization options, I did not hear any single crack or weird noise coming from the chair during my test.

Still, I would be careful with the armrest mechanism and the rotating function.

Is The NeueChair Comfortable?

My answer to this question is both yes and no.

The good thing about the NeueChair is that it forces your body to sit in an ergonomic position. However, if you let yourself go, the position can become really uncomfortable.

I like to see this feature as one of the best because it forces you to sit in a healthy position – something that people are not practicing nowadays.

The bad thing is that some people like to sit in unhealthy positions and may find this chair uncomfortable.

For the sake of improving their body posture, they should know that the lumbar support found in the NeueChair is exceptional – I finally felt true support for my lower back.

So all in all, the NeueChair is comfortable for sitting in healthy positions – but not a chair that lets you unwind and relax on it. 

Final Verdict

At this point, you are probably wondering whether the SecretLab NeueChair is a good value for money.