Modern One UI has the best virtual SmartThings TV remote

[phillynews215]

Over the past four years, I've watched Samsung go from a clunky old TV remote to the solar-powered remote most of us know and love today.



Throughout this transition, Samsung also continued to work on fully digitizing its TV remote through the SmartThings mobile app. Virtual TV controls are now available on Galaxy Watches and Galaxy phones alike.



Thankfully, I don't think Samsung is trying to completely replace the physical TV remote with on-screen buttons on our smart devices. At least not yet.



Nevertheless, the company has improved its virtual remote over the years, and the feature appears to be here to stay. The good news is that the virtual remote recently became a whole lot more appealing and easier to access.



The best virtual TV remote iteration so far



I've always considered the virtual remote to be a secondary option in case something went wrong with my SolarCell.



I much prefer physical controls for a remote, and accessing the virtual remote on my phone or watch always felt a little clunky to me.



That's no longer entirely the case. The (new) TV remote panel in the SmartThings Device Control quick toggle is a lot easier to access.










I'm not sure exactly when Samsung added this TV remote directly into the Device Control panel, but it seems like a relatively recent update to SmartThings after One UI 8 debuted.



In any case, this is the first time I'm actually considering using the virtual remote with my TV. I don't plan to replace my SolarCell, but since this update, I have reached for my phone a few times when I misplaced my SolarCell TV remote.



This never happened before, even though I was well aware of the virtual remote inside the SmartThings app, the lock screen, the TV remote home screen widget, and the Galaxy Watch TV remote.



I didn't mind those features existing, but again, I viewed them more like backup options in case my SolarCell remote broke.



This new SmartThings Device Control design is the first that feels more than a backup in case of hardware failure. It's not something I'd use every day, mind you, but I have used it more than I did the other virtual remote options. So, I guess Samsung must be doing something right.



It's still missing a few things, like I don't understand why the virtual remote doesn't have a built-in microphone button. But regardless, the way it's implemented right now, embedded in the SmartThings Device Control panel, is better than ever and remotely appealing, no pun intended.




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The post Modern One UI has the best virtual SmartThings TV remote appeared first on SamMobile.



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