The quality of finish of early Beo 4 terminals was poor, with plastics being used for both the case and front panel. Soon this was changed to die cast zinc and aluminium, making the case of similar quality to the Beolink 5000. One complaint with the Beolink 5000 had been that it was too complicated, so in an attempt to simplify the Beo 4 a new programming or “customising” system was used. Functions were picked from a “list”, and the list was programmed by the B&O dealer to include only those functions relevant to the user’s equipment. Adding new functions to the list was easy when new items were added to the system.

Another new feature of the Beo 4 was the use of coloured keys, which initially looked like the “fastext” controls of cheaper sets. This was indeed one of their functions, but in conjunction with the “Go” button they were central to the operation of many products.