Smartphones are capable of doing so much more than the basic functions we are already used to – making calls, sending and replying texts, taking pictures, and so on. ‘Remote control’ is a feature which came on along the timeline of smartphone evolution. It leveraged on an old nifty technology that we used to see in older phones, to make its functionality universal for a wide range of devices.
Remote control feature
Remote control feature made its debut in some early Samsung, LG and Sony phones, like the LG G2, LG G Flex, Samsung Galaxy Note 3, Samsung Galaxy S4, and Sony Xperia Z. It makes use of the IR blaster (Infrared device) that came as part of the hardware on these smartphones. Usually, our regular home Television and Remote setup makes use of the same technology – infrared communication. Hence, Android phones with IR blasters have the ability to communicate with any device that receives commands via IR light beams. These include many of the common remote-controlled devices in your home, such as TVs, set-top boxes, streaming boxes, home theatre systems, air conditioning units, and many more.
Some of the first phones with IR blasters include Sony Ericsson P900 and P910, Samsung sch-i730, Nokia N95, Palm Centro, Nokia 3110 classic, and so on. For those that were there from the onset of the mobile revolution, IR blasters were primarily used for transferring media across two phones. They both had to be make physical contact and one device must be placed in a reverse position for the transfer to work. However, with the advent of Bluetooth that tech was quickly disrupted, only for IR blasters to resurface again on smartphones to support the control feature.
Peel
Having an IR blaster doesn’t immediately make you able to control appliances, you’ll need an app that will help harness that ability. Popular Remote Control app – Peel – is available on various devices. Peel is compatible with 98 percent of all consumer electronics, including 3,500 TV brands and 600 set top box types. The app is available on iOS and Android. It is integrated with Samsung and HTC devices for delivery to device purchasers as a preloaded app, and the app works in over 200 countries and delivers program guides in 110 countries. Some other phone manufacturers prefer to ship their devices with their own homegrown Remote-control app.
You can do literally anything a normal Remote Control device can with your smartphone Remote Control app. From changing TV channels, input device, controlling volume, turning it on or off, controlling air conditioning temperature, controlling fan speed, and much more.
The number of flagship devices that ship with IR blasters is on the decrease. Last year, mostly Xiaomi and Huawei products were seen with an IR blaster. Smart TVs (Apple TV, Android TV, etc) are beginning to take over the TV industry. Interestingly, smartphones won’t be needing the IR blaster to control these ones.
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This article was first published on 31st March 2018
tobenna-ezike
Tobenna is a writer, programmer and musician who is passionate about God, tech, and music. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook by clicking the icons below.
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