4/13/2021: Dark days for universal remotes
The decline of the universal remote
Plus: Fast file sharing, fighting text spam, and Apple’s gadget-tracking network
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Late last week, Logitech confirmed rumors that it’s killing off its Harmony line of universal TV remotes. While you can still buy new Harmony remotes today, Logitech won’t manufacture any more after supplies run out.
In the short term, the news is obviously a blow to current and prospective Harmony users. While Logitech says its “goal” is to maintain the Harmony software and expand device compatibility for as long as people keep using the product, it hasn’t committed to a timeframe. And even if Logitech makes good on its promises, it clearly won’t be investing in any major product improvements.
But more broadly, Logitech’s announcement is also indicative of the universal remote’s overall decline. The rise of streaming video and several other technological advancements have made the concept less appealing than it used to be, and while I doubt universal remotes will ever go away, they’ll likely become relegated to even smaller and more specialized niches over time.
Universally replaced
Universal remotes were a lot easier to justify before cord cutting took off. Between TVs, cable boxes, DVD players, and A/V receivers, you could easily amass a pile of remotes in your living room, each performing a separate function.
But as streaming video subsumes all other forms of TV consumption, it’s taking all the extra remotes with it. Live TV streaming services are replacing cable boxes, and on-demand rentals are replacing optical media. You can even route over-the-air antenna signals through your streaming player. At the same time, basic TV controls have become table-stakes on most streaming players. Unless you buy the absolute cheapest Roku or Fire TV, you’ll get a remote that can control TV volume and power.
Still, the universal remote’s decline isn’t strictly due to cord cutting. Harmony diehards like to talk up the concept of “Activities,” in which you can press one button to simultaneously turn on the TV, power up your A/V receiver, and switch over to your cable or streaming box. But that’s also the kind of orchestration that the industry’s HDMI-CEC and HDMI-ARC protocols have provided for years now. If your TV and receiver (or soundbar) support these protocols, just waking up your streaming player should be enough to power on your TV and sound system while switching to the appropriate input.
Harmony was also unique in its attempt to tie in smart home controls, so you could dim the lights while entering TV mode or use an Alexa or Google Assistant speaker to execute Activities. But even on this front, other smart home ecosystems are making Harmony redundant.
Many newer smart TVs integrate with Alexa, Google Assistant, or Apple HomeKit (and in some cases, a combination of all three) so you can turn them on, adjust volume, and switch inputs with voice commands. You can also set up smart home routines with Amazon’s Fire TV devices or Google’s Chromecast/Android TV devices, letting you use a single command to turn on the TV, adjust the lights, and even launch video content. Those commands can then be triggered through a nearby smart speaker or on the streaming remote itself.
Surveying the alternatives
None of which is to say that universal remotes no longer serve a purpose. Maybe you’re a happy cable customer with no plans to cut the cord, or a videophile who can’t imagine movie nights without Blu-ray. Perhaps your A/V system predates HDMI-ARC or HDMI-CEC, and upgrading it would cost more than buying a remote to tie things together. No judgment here, but the reality is that it’s getting harder to find the kind of sophisticated solutions that Harmony offered.
I’ve seen some websites recommending the Sevenhugs Smart Remote as a potential Harmony replacement, but I’d advise against it. Last year, Sevenhugs was acquired by a semiconductor company called Qorvo, which does not have but one hug to give for consumer hardware. While SevenHugs says it will “continue to maintain and support” its remotes, Qorvo’s press release doesn’t mention the product at all. That’s a huge red flag.
A similar warning applies to Caavo, whose Control Center set-top box can route multiple HDMI sources through a single input, with one remote to navigate them all. I’ve tested Caavo myself, and it’s better in theory than in practice, but the bigger issue is that the company seems to have gone dark. Its blog has been quiet since September, and its Twitter account hasn’t posted since early January, which is also when my PR contact appears to have left the company.
These companies most likely discovered the same thing Logitech did, which is that fancy universal remotes are a shrinking niche. You may still see them as part of professionally installed solutions, akin to what Control4 offers through its Neeo remote, but it’s hard to imagine consumer tech companies building thriving ecosystems around them in the way that Logitech once did.
So what can you do? My advice would be to look at some simpler options:
- A company called Sideclick makes a series of attachments for streaming remotes, allowing you to add a handful of basic IR functions.
- Philips’ Flip & Slide remote (seen above) can control up to four devices over IR and can hide a Roku remote in its underbelly. It’s unashamedly chunky, but ensures that you can still use your Roku remote’s voice controls and app shortcut buttons. (There’s also a Fire TV version.)
- One For All makes a decent remote (also pictured above) for any streaming device that supports IR, including the Apple TV and some Roku models, and you can map the volume and power controls to separate A/V systems or TVs. I like that it resembles a streaming remote instead of your typical cable clunker, but it doesn’t support voice controls.
- Sofabaton’s U1 can control up to 15 devices over either IR and Bluetooth devices, but again, you’d be giving up the voice controls that come from using your streaming device’s remote.
These options clearly aren’t direct Harmony replacements, but they can at least help bridge the gaps between older home theater gear and newer streaming devices. If you’re not ready to consolidate your own setup into fewer devices overall, they’ll at least buy you some time.
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