Thoughts on IR Blasters in Phones

[ShaithEatery]

So my contract is about a week from being up, which means I can get pretty much any flagship smartphone for a reasonable amount of money, and this whole year leading up to this has me more undecided on a clear choice of phone to get than ever before, mainly because the one feature that I've gotten so used to using and appreciate is the IR Blaster on my HTC One M7, and not too many phones that are compelling to me have this feature.  And now with the announcements of both the OnePlus 2 and the new Moto X Pure both seemingly not having one, I'm curious if I'm the only one who actually uses this feature on a daily basis.  I use Smart Remote to control my TV, Logitech z5500 speakers, and even a little off-brand optical audio switcher that I was able to record the IR codes from the crappy remote that it came with.  I can even search for any model of TV or other device with this app and download the IR codes on the fly (helped a lot when my friend bought a used CRT TV for older console gaming and it didn't have a remote with it, just looked up the model number and changed inputs for him right then and there).

 

So I'm curious, who all uses the IR Blaster on their phone regularly if you have one?  And if you are shopping for a new phone, is this something you look for in the specs specifically like I have been?  I find it extremely useful and awesome that I can do this with my phone, but it seems that I'm in the minority with the lack of comments about it on these newly announced phones.

[79wjd]

There's an easy workaround being a bluetooth/wifi module that receives the signal and then transmits it directly to the device (either through IR or through some other connector). The advantage of this being that you can keep the equipment (in reference to dvd players/amplifiers/processors/etc...) hidden away (although there are also IR extenders). 

 

Anyway, I personally rarely ever use TVs (pretty much everything I do is on my desktop/laptop/phone) so I don't have any need for an IR blaster. As such, they're worthless to me and just ruin the aesthetics of the device (not that I really care about having a small black window-like port on my phone anyway). 

[ShadowCaptain]

Its useful but not a make or break feature

 

I still use my iPaq h2210 as my home remote

[ltguy]

I used mine daily on the galaxy s4 for turning on my tv and receiver and it is sorely missed now that I have a nexus 6.

[ShaithEatery]

There's an easy workaround being a bluetooth/wifi module that receives the signal and then transmits it directly to the device (either through IR or through some other connector). The advantage of this being that you can keep the equipment (in reference to dvd players/amplifiers/processors/etc...) hidden away (although there are also IR extenders). 

 

Anyway, I personally rarely ever use TVs (pretty much everything I do is on my desktop/laptop/phone) so I don't have any need for an IR blaster. As such, they're worthless to me and just ruin the aesthetics of the device (not that I really care about having a small black window-like port on my phone anyway). 

 

I assume you're talking about devices like the Logitech Harmony Home Hub?  From what I understand you have to use their app to control devices and such, so while it's definitely a possible workaround and can make your home theater look cleaner by hiding devices away, I'd rather use software that I know works and is extremely flexible.  Though if I end up getting something without an IR Blaster, this will be my only option unless you know of any other devices that do this you could recommend. 

[79wjd]

I assume you're talking about devices like the Logitech Harmony Home Hub?  From what I understand you have to use their app to control devices and such, so while it's definitely a possible workaround and can make your home theater look cleaner by hiding devices away, I'd rather use software that I know works and is extremely flexible.  Though if I end up getting something without an IR Blaster, this will be my only option unless you know of any other devices that do this you could recommend. 

I haven't personally used Logitech's Harmony software, but I know multiple people who use/have used Logitech Harmony remotes (not hubs) in the past -- and those were always the go-to choice for home media centers. So it's probably not too far fetched to assume that the Home Hub app is pretty good (if not overly complicated). 

[d3sl91]

Do I use it? Sometimes. 

 

If I had my own full livingroom and spent way more time in it - then I'd like one more. 

 

The fewer remotes thebetter. 

[Mo5]

And I still remember the days when IR was used to transfer data between phones