What happened to the ir blaster?

andrew_ackley

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It's just a general trend. Take away features, make incremental spec upgrades, wrap it in a fragile paper thin glass body, and charge more for it. The LG V20 is one of, if not the last flagship I'm aware of that had the IR Blaster.

P20 pro has it bro. Severely underrated.
 

Mike Dee

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I would counter (or maybe simply justify) that phones are getting too thin as it is, leading to more fragility. A paper thin phone is just begging to be broken.

Make them thicker and you free up a lot of space for things like that, can have a bigger battery, and a frame that is more durable.

Though I wouldn't object to what you're suggesting I don't think we're going to reverse the tides anytime soon.
 

Rukbat

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Give it a few more years, ths IR will be gone from most new televisions and receivers as well.
At least a few more years. The newest cable boxes used by Spectrum (they're branded "Spectrum", so who knows which ones they are) still use IR. I'd love to see all my remote-controllable devices use BT - but so far, not even the BT head unit in my car is controllable by BT.

But then, 14 years ago, you couldn't send MMS between carriers, so we'll see what happens. But it was nice to be able to control everything with the same phone I always had with me anyway. (It was also nice to be able to swap batteries out, and to throw an extra hundred GB of storage into the phone.) People want light, and they want thin. And most cellphone buyers today (20-somethings) can't remember being able to hold a phone on your shoulder for half an hour while you looked around the office for things, pulled files, opened drawers - and it stuck there like glue. Do that with a cellphone and you develop scoliosis - it you can bend your neck that far.
 

Mooncatt

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Mike Dee

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As much fun as an IR blaster may be for some and useful for others it just doesn't appear to be a feature that is desired by the masses. I owned two devices that had an IR blaster but that was simply coincidence.
I don't know anyone outside of this forum that wants one so I can understand it being cut from the list of common features.
 

bembol

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I love it, sure I change the channels or turn off the TV but it's useful when I'm at GoodLife working out and don't exactly wanna watch HGTV (Home & Garden) while I'm relaxing on the massage chair.

Some days or night I can't stay home to watch NFL so I have to schedule it when I hit the gym.

It wouldn't be a problem if they gave us access to the remote.
 

TabGuy

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Have you honestly compared the space available in satellite receivers, Televisions and smartphones? Huge difference. IR as a TV remote technology is antiquated and honestly has no place in tight market and product such as that of smartphones.

Give it a few more years, ths IR will be gone from most new televisions and receivers as well. It never really made it to devices like Roku, Amazon firestick, Google Chromecast, AppleTV, etc... Again those (like smartphones) were already space constrained. The argument is kinda moot really - the writing's already on the wall.

I bought 3 new TVs in the last 3 months. All different brands. They're all IR. No TV manufacturer is going to spend MORE money to install a feature that no one is asking for.

Aside: I have an RF remote in my Tivo. I HATE IT. It's to easy to bump when it's on the couch and change the channel or have it do other things. Get it caught in between the seat cushions and the results are just crazy. Channels change, input selection changed, volume goes up/down.

Having an RF remote is a horrible experience and I wish I could change my Tivo to IR.
 

SpookDroid

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NONE of my TVs (past 2 Samsungs, current 2 Samsungs, 1 TCL) nor any of my remote-controlled devices are IR anymore. Haven't used an IR remote in years. Even cheapo-Roku stick is BT for a couple years now. An IR port would be just one more plastic cover that can break and get dusty on a phone (for me) now.
 

Mike Dee

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NONE of my TVs (past 2 Samsungs, current 2 Samsungs, 1 TCL) nor any of my remote-controlled devices are IR anymore. Haven't used an IR remote in years. Even cheapo-Roku stick is BT for a couple years now. An IR port would be just one more plastic cover that can break and get dusty on a phone (for me) now.

The IR port on LG phones was tiny and flush with the phone. Having said that it's a feature I would never use.
 

mustang7757

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The IR port on LG phones was tiny and flush with the phone. Having said that it's a feature I would never use.

You wouldn't be saying that if your kids lose the remote or decided to leave only 1 battery in it 😂😂 and so conveniently happens when u need to switch the channel to watch the playoffs
 

CKwik240

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I have one of the Logitech remotes with the hub. if I really need to use my phone or tablet to control it, I can open the app and it will control everything via WiFi.
 

Mike Dee

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You wouldn't be saying that if your kids lose the remote or decided to leave only 1 battery in it 😂😂 and so conveniently happens when u need to switch the channel to watch the playoffs

We could come up with a thousand scenarios of one off reasons why we would need one in a pinch. That doesn't justify the need to put it in a phone. My remotes never leave the proximity of where they are needed. Comethink of it, most of the remotes in my house support other devices so I would most likey never be in that situation.

I understand all the arguments for and against it. Wouldn't bother me if every phone had it, but the days of IR blaster support have past. Those days aren't coming back anytime soon. Just my realistic view.
 

mustang7757

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We could come up with a thousand scenarios of one off reasons why we would need one in a pinch. That doesn't justify the need to put it in a phone. My remotes never leave the proximity of where they are needed. Comethink of it, most of the remotes in my house support other devices so I would most likey never be in that situation.

I understand all the arguments for and against it. Wouldn't bother me if every phone had it, but the days of IR blaster support have past. Those days aren't coming back anytime soon. Just my realistic view.

I definitely I agree with you it's not coming back , but I've missed it . Had it on my htc and Samsung phones, but I guess if you have a Samsung TV there's a app that can control that still.
 

Creedyfbaby

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It was just an added feature that was possible i seen in an old phone no reason for debate over laziness technology to keep us from getting out of our seat....but i will say infrared isnt antiquated and is used in many things currently and even the US military uses sophisticated heat seeking missiles with infrared if im not mistaking.
 

Itsa_Me_Mario

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It was just an added feature that was possible i seen in an old phone no reason for debate over laziness technology to keep us from getting out of our seat....but i will say infrared isnt antiquated and is used in many things currently and even the US military uses sophisticated heat seeking missiles with infrared if im not mistaking.
Infared isn't antiquated, using it to control household devices has begun to become antiquated because we have better solutions that don't require LOS, etc.
 

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