The Harmony Ultimate combines Logitech’s best remote and includes the Smart Control Hub in one bundle. But that wasn’t entirely the case, and Logitech has since released the Harmony Smart Control Hub for the same purpose. Pay $100, and your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch could effectively do almost everything a top-notch Harmony remote can. The company first experimented with the idea of a smartphone and tablet remote with the Harmony Link, a Wi-Fi-connected module with a built-in IR blaster that beamed commands taken from a mobile app. Thompson wouldn’t substantiate that view, but did say that smartphones do have their place in the bigger picture. When Logitech was looking to sell off the Harmony business, it was thought that a big reason why was because smartphones and apps would eventually just kill it anyway. After all, if it’s sitting there next to you, why not put it to work showing a visual guide and flipping channels? Samsung, HTC and Sony have all pushed the idea of including IR blasters on their flagship phones to highlight the fact that it’s another neat thing your phone can do. What does that experience look like? The level of accuracy is something we’re aware of and concerned about, since those ingredient technologies can become gimmicky really quickly.”Īnd yet, some of those “ingredients” are already standard features on smartphones. “What kind of experience would you have with the TV on and a certain amount of noise coming out of it, while you’re trying to change the channel or volume. “Not one of those is the perfect option because they have to complement and supplement each other, so we’re absolutely looking at when voice makes the most sense,” he says. Thompson was on a panel at this year’s CES in January that discussed what he calls “ingredient technologies”, like voice, gestures, swiping, tapping and other potential inputs. They’re a mix of old school buttons and snazzy touchscreens that present some of their best features. Harmony remotes don’t do voices or gestures. And who knows when, or if, Siri will eventually make its way to the Apple TV box or the rumored flat-panel TV Cupertino is supposedly working on. Samsung and other TV manufacturers have played around with some motion-sensored and voice concepts, but still haven’t fully integrated them. Microsoft believes it has a winning combination with its Kinect sensor that lets you use voice recognition and hand gestures to navigate menus and access content on the Xbox 360 and upcoming Xbox One. It’s no secret that there’s been some experimentation in various circles in that area. “Compatibility was always the focus in the beginning, as in, ‘would it work with devices at home?’ We’ve addressed that with our database, so it should now be about broadening the scope and enriching the experience.” We have to figure out how mobile devices and end points like lighting fit in,” says Chad Thompson, director of marketing at Logitech’s Digital Home Group. “Consumer expectations are now higher, so it doesn’t just start and stop with your home entertainment system. With over 225,000 devices in its database, TVs, Blu-ray players, receivers, media players and even game consoles are covered. Getting them to talk to each other faster was what Harmony did so much better than all other brands, helping achieve a level of notoriety for the products that competitors couldn’t match. The smartphone has a place in terms of control from almost anywhere…but people have a love affair with buttons that runs pretty deepUniversal remotes have typically been associated with home theater because that’s where most electronic components were connected. So now that Logitech’s all in, how does it think it can make Harmony that much better? We looked to find out.įor starters, Logitech wouldn’t reveal why it opted not to sell Harmony off, but the folks we spoke to did provide some insight into what the future holds for the line to keep it going for the long-term. It’s been the standard universal remote ever since, so its uncertain future months ago led to speculation that the company saw the writing on the wall and preferred to focus on mobile devices instead – especially if they were to cannibalize the Harmony business anyway. The first Harmony remote was developed in Canada in 2001 and Logitech scooped it up for a cool $29 million. Harmony remotes don’t have a long history, but you could argue they do have something of a storied one. Where it once had no serious competitors, the game has changed with smartphone and tablet manufacturers thinking they’ve got the goods to take them out. In the end, it spared the popular universal remote from an acquisition (or the guillotine) and is now committed to making it better. You may not have known this, but Logitech almost sold off its Harmony remote line earlier this year as part of a plan to retool and refocus the company’s assets.
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