A smart home isn’t limited to just having a couple of smart lights, smart switches and any other smart device that can be controlled through an app. A smart home is one that is able to connect and control most, if not all, of its appliances and devices through the internet. Even if your old appliance doesn’t come with built-in Wi-Fi, there are devices like the smart plug that can convert it into a smart one. For example, a smart plug can make your dumb old electric fan smart, however, it can only turn it on or off at designated times or when you use the accompanying app. It cannot operate more complicated devices that can be controlled via infrared remote control.
That’s where our little buddy, the Universal Smart IR Remote, comes into the picture. Just in case you’re unfamiliar with smart devices, they are basically internet-connected devices that can collect information and send it or receive information and act on it. Sometimes they can do both. You can read our blog on Smart Devices if you want to learn more about them. If you’re okay with the brief explanation we provided, then please continue reading.
Smart IR Remote
What is a smart remote? Simply put, a smart IR remote is an infrared remote control that is connected to the internet and can be controlled through an app. Through the app, you can control infrared appliances such as TVs, aircons and TV boxes. Amazing, right?
Not convinced yet? Here’s a list of reasons that we compiled for you on why every home should have a Smart IR Remote.
1. Control IR appliances anywhere
Want to relax as soon as you get home? Who doesn’t? For most people, a cool bedroom is a prerequisite for relaxation. If you want to get home to a cool bedroom and not have to wait a couple of minutes for the aircon to cool it down, a smart IR remote should be able to do the trick for you. When you’re a couple of minutes away from your home, you can turn on your aircon through the app that controls your smart IR remote. That’s it! A cool bedroom awaits when you get home.
2. Smart Routines
A smart routine is a series of commands that will be executed by your smart devices at a designated time or when a condition is fulfilled. If it sounds a bit complicated, here is one example to make it easier to understand.
To conserve electricity, you might want your aircon to turn off at a specific time. In the Philippines, it can get pretty hot really fast if you don’t turn on your fan right after the aircon shuts down. You can automate these actions when you have a smart remote and a smart plug. You might be thinking, “Why do I need a smart remote when my aircon has a remote that can set a timer?”. Yes, you can do that and you only need a smart plug for the job if your fan doesn’t have a built-in timer, BUT you have to set that timer on your aircon everyday! You also cannot set a specific time as most aircons only allow you to turn them off in one hour increments. By using a smart remote, you only need to set this once and it will literally take you only a couple of minutes max to configure the routine! You can even program it to run on weekdays only if you want the aircon to run longer during weekends.
3. Voice control
Smart assistants are becoming increasingly popular. It won’t be surprising that most homes and devices in the near future will be equipped with smart speakers or have smart assistants like Google and Alexa integrated into them. Today, a lot of high-end TVs have already incorporated Google Assistant or their own version of a smart assistant into their unit. You can issue voice commands such as turn on the TV or increase the volume and the smart assistant will handle it for you.
But what about your 3 year old TV? Do you need to spend a lot of money just to get this feature? Definitely not! As you might have guessed it, you only need to have a smart IR remote to use the voice command features of Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. A smart IR remote has access to a wide range of virtual remote controls of major appliance manufacturers such as Samsung, LG, Panasonic, etc. You simply look for the virtual remote control that is compatible with your unit and voila! You can issue basic voice commands such as, “Turn on/off the TV” or, “Turn on/off the aircon”, to Google or Alexa and they will execute it for you. Easy peasy!
4. It’s UNIVERSAL
Our Smart IR Remote is a universal remote control. This means that you are not limited to just one type of appliance or device. If you grew up in the 90s and early 2000s, your concept of universal remote is limited to the TV remote. This so-called universal remote can be used to control different brands of TVs. Now, when you say universal, it really means universal because you can use the Smart IR Remote with all infrared appliances (appliances that can be controlled with infrared remote). As long as the Universal Smart IR Remote is within 8 meters of the IR appliance, you can control it through the Smart Life app, through voice commands and even through smart routines. So the next time a remote control conks out, why go to the nearest hardware store and buy a “universal” remote that can only control different brands of one kind of appliance? Get a Universal Smart IR Remote that can do the same thing and a whole lot more!
As mentioned above, our Universal Smart IR Remote has access to a wide range of virtual remote controls of major appliance manufacturers. It even includes brands that we haven’t even heard of! On the off chance that you are unable to find a compatible virtual remote for your appliance/device, you can use the DIY (Do-It-Yourself) approach to teach the Universal Smart IR Remote most, if not all, of the functions of your physical remote control. This process employs a method called signal learning wherein you assign a virtual button to a specific function. You do this by pressing the actual button on the physical remote control so the smart IR remote can learn what to do when it receives that specific signal.
To learn more about our smart IR remote, please click on this link – Universal Smart IR Remote. To get more tips and tricks, please subscribe to our newsletter by submitting your email address in the form below. You will also be notified when we have new products and promos.
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