Comparison

IRスマートリモコン vs Universal TV Remote

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

IRスマートリモコン

Transform your iPhone into a TV remote using a special adapter. Control power, channels, volume, and input for major TV brands.

Highlights
  • IR remote control functionality
  • TV power control (ON/OFF)
  • Input switching
  • Channel selection
  • Volume adjustment
  • Broadcast wave switching
Features
Read full description

「IRスマートリモコン」はiPhoneのイヤホンジャックに専用のIR-SMARTを接続することで、TV用の赤外線リモコンとして利用できるアプリです。 [対応操作] ・テレビの電源ON/FF ・入力切替 ・チャンネルの切り替え ・番組表表示 ・音量変更/ミュート ・放送波切替(地上波/BS/CS) [対応テレビメーカー] パナソニック、東芝、シャープ、SONY、日立、LGE (上記メーカーのテレビでも一部動作しない機種がございます。)

About

Universal TV Remote

Features
Read full description

No subscription. No in-app purchases. No paid upgrade. The remote is missing. The batteries are dead. Someone left it in another room. When that happens, your iPhone becomes the remote, and unlike most remote apps, it turns the TV back on, not just off. It was built by someone who had tried a lot of remote apps and kept hitting the same problems: slow to respond, the useful buttons buried, no way to type a channel number. All of that is fixed. ■ It turns the TV on, not just off This app uses Wake on LAN to wake a TV from standby, so turning the TV on from bed in the morning actually works. * Your TV must have "turn on over network" enabled. See the notes below. ■ No in-app purchases Actions use "points": you start with 100 and each action spends one (press-and-hold and rapid presses count as one). Watching a rewarded video adds 30. "Turn the TV on" never costs a point, so running out can never leave you unable to switch the TV on. Points cannot be bought. ■ The buttons you use, where your thumb already is - A large circular D-pad with OK in the centre, sized for one-handed use - Volume and channel on rockers either side of the D-pad. Hold to repeat - Home, input, back and exit in a single row under the D-pad - The four coloured buttons (red, green, yellow, blue) ■ Captions, replay and search Turn subtitles on and off from the app, on LG and Samsung sets and other network-connected TVs. On Roku you also get instant replay and the options button (*), as on the physical remote. ■ Pick an input from a list, not by cycling The app asks your TV which inputs it has and shows them by name, including the names you gave your devices. TVs that do not report a list get HDMI 1-4. ■ A keypad for typing channel numbers Enter the number and go straight to it, including sub-channels like 12.1. Save the channels you watch most and reach them in a tap. ■ Launch streaming apps on the TV Open YouTube, Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, Disney+, Apple TV, Spotify and others, whichever are installed on your TV. ■ Type with your iPhone keyboard Type on your iPhone and send it to the TV, instead of spelling a search out one letter at a time. ■ Supported TVs (detected automatically) - LG webOS (NANO, OLED, UHD and others) - Roku TV and Roku streaming devices - Samsung Tizen (Neo QLED, The Frame and others) - Network-connected TVs from Sony, Sharp, TCL and other brands Join the same Wi-Fi and the app finds the TV and works out its protocol. You do not need a separate app for each brand. ■ Getting started 1. Connect your iPhone to the same Wi-Fi network as the TV 2. Open the app. It looks for TVs on your network (iOS asks for Local Network access the first time) 3. Pick your TV and approve the connection on the TV screen (first time only) ■ Before you buy in - Your iPhone and TV must share a router. A TV on Ethernet is fine - Everything goes over Wi-Fi. Infrared (IR) is not supported - The first connection needs approval on the TV screen - Turning the TV on requires a setting on the TV. On LG sets, enable "Settings > General > External Devices > Mobile TV On". Some power-saving options prevent it - The app controls the television, not a cable or satellite set-top box. If you watch through a box, the app covers power, volume and input, but the channels are handled by the box's own remote - The app controls the television, not a cable or satellite set-top box. If you watch through a Sky, Virgin or similar box, it covers power, volume and input, but the channels are handled by the box's own remote - Some buttons are unavailable depending on your TV model and firmware. Buttons that cannot be used are dimmed - The app shows ads - Available in English, Spanish and Japanese, following your device language * Product and service names are trademarks of their respective owners. This app is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of them; they are listed as apps that can be opened on your TV.

Screenshots

IRスマートリモコン2 screens
Universal TV Remote4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: IRスマートリモコン at 9.0 against Universal TV Remote's 15.0. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Scorecard1 real difference · 7 level
IRスマートリモコン versus Universal TV Remote: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterIRスマートリモコンUniversal TV Remote
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Update frequency—Every 5 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS9.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB24 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperI-O DATA, INC.gen shinozaki

In-app purchases

None

IRスマートリモコン

No in-app purchases

None

Universal TV Remote

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is IRスマートリモコン free?
IRスマートリモコン is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Universal TV Remote free?
Universal TV Remote is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do IRスマートリモコン or Universal TV Remote have ads?
Neither IRスマートリモコン nor Universal TV Remote shows ads.

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