Comparison

Smart Things vs Simple Smart TV Remote

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

Head to head
About

Smart Things

Control all your smart home devices, including lights, thermostats, and cameras, from a single interface. Manage your smart TVs with integrated remotes and create custom scenes and automations for convenience. Personalize room aesthetics with custom wallpapers and accent colors.

Highlights
  • Control lights, thermostats, locks, and more
  • Live view for HomeKit cameras and doorbells
  • Remote control for smart TVs (Fire TV, Roku, Samsung, LG)
  • Create custom scenes and automations
  • Personalize room aesthetics with wallpapers
  • Widgets and Control Center integration
  • Siri and Shortcuts support
Features
Read full description

Every accessory in your home, and every remote you actually reach for, in one app — on iPhone and iPad. CONTROL THE WHOLE HOME Lights, thermostats, locks, blinds, fans, sensors, purifiers, sprinklers, cameras. If HomeKit reports it, you can see it and set it. Each control is built from what the accessory says about itself, so a dimmer gets a slider, a color lamp gets a wheel, and a lock gets a lock — including accessories released after this app was. CAMERAS Watch your HomeKit cameras and doorbells live, with a fresh snapshot on each camera's card. TELEVISION REMOTES Fire TV, Roku, Samsung, LG and other smart TVs, found on your Wi-Fi and paired in seconds. A full directional pad, playback, volume, a keyboard for typing on the TV, and its apps a tap away. Assign a television to a room and it sits with everything else in that room. SCENES AND AUTOMATIONS Run a scene from anywhere in the app. Capture how your rooms are set right now and keep it as a scene, or rename, re-record and delete the ones you have. Build automations that run at a time of day, at sunrise or sunset, or when a sensor or accessory changes — motion detected, a door opened, a light switched on. SIRI AND SHORTCUTS Run a scene or switch an accessory by voice, from Spotlight, the Shortcuts app or the Action button. MAKE EVERY ROOM ITS OWN Give each room a wallpaper — one of ours or a photo of yours — with an adjustable blur. Accent colors can follow the wallpaper automatically, so a room looks like itself rather than like a settings screen. WIDGETS AND CONTROL CENTER See how much of the house is on at a glance, switch an accessory or run a scene straight from the home screen, and keep your favorites in Control Center. Choose which room a widget follows and which scenes it shows. SMART THINGS PRO Seeing your home — every accessory's state, its readings and your cameras — and building scenes and automations are free. Controlling and adding accessories, running scenes, the TV remote, interactive widgets and your own room photos are part of Smart Things Pro, an auto-renewable subscription. Smart home control that shows you everything your accessories can do, and asks nothing you should not have to think about. Privacy Policy: https://docs.google.com/document/d/12voOgya1fD5zQagp2-4iQ6464r8q1ZW9uJ-vONIoucE/edit?usp=sharing Terms of Use: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1v1fA32bGcq7_uAz0_JcWQ_8VZb_0pWlH8Uq9nDysVwk/edit?usp=sharing

About

Simple Smart TV Remote

Features
Read full description

A fast, uncluttered remote for Samsung, LG, Sony and Roku TVs, over Wi-Fi. No account, no ads, no tracking of what you watch. Open it and the TV is already there. WHAT YOU GET • A large D-pad with OK, sized for one thumb • Volume and channel rockers that repeat when held • Back, Home, input source and playback controls • A number pad for channels and on-screen PIN entry • App shortcuts on LG, Sony and Roku TVs • Ambient art mode on Samsung models that support it HOW IT WORKS The app finds your TV on your local network and talks to it directly. Nothing is routed through a server, and your viewing is never sent anywhere. The first time you connect, your TV asks for permission: an "Allow" prompt on Samsung and LG, a PIN to type in on Sony. Accept once and the app remembers. Roku needs no pairing. SUPPORTED TVS • Samsung smart TVs running Tizen, 2016 models and newer • LG smart TVs running webOS • Sony BRAVIA TVs, with remote control over the network switched on in the TV's settings • Roku TVs and Roku streaming players Your phone and TV must be on the same Wi-Fi network. Please note: a TV that is fully powered off cannot be woken over Wi-Fi, so the app cannot switch it on from cold. Everything else works whenever the TV is on or in standby. PRO The remote is free for one TV. Pro adds the trackpad, typing with your phone's keyboard, app shortcuts and control of more than one TV. Pro is available as a monthly or yearly subscription, or as a one-time lifetime purchase. Payment is charged to your Apple Account when you confirm the purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period; renewal is charged within the 24 hours before the period ends. You can manage or cancel subscriptions in your App Store account settings. This app is an independent product. It is not affiliated with, authorised by, or endorsed by Samsung, LG, Sony or Roku, and it does not include or replace any manufacturer software. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://tvremote-cf6c6.web.app/privacy.html

Screenshots

Smart Things4 screens
Simple Smart TV Remote4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Smart Things at weekly against Simple Smart TV Remote's monthly. 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. Smart Things sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days and Simple Smart TV Remote sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.49 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Smart Things ships an update weekly, Simple Smart TV Remote monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 13, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 8 level
Smart Things versus Simple Smart TV Remote: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSmart ThingsSimple Smart TV Remote
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.0 (2 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings2 — better—
Update frequencyWeekly — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.616.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size31 MB52 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMikita KharoshkaWDD Apps

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Smart Things

Subscriptions5
  • Pro Weekly3 Days trial$4.997 Days
  • Pro Weekly$4.997 Days
  • Pro Monthly Special$5.991 Month
Show 2 more
  • Pro Monthly$9.991 Month
  • Pro Yearly$39.991 Year
3 purchases

Simple Smart TV Remote

Subscriptions2
  • Pro Monthly$1.491 Month
  • Pro Yearly$5.991 Year
One-time1
  • Pro Lifetime$9.99

Questions

Is Smart Things free?
Smart Things is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Simple Smart TV Remote free?
Simple Smart TV Remote is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Smart Things or Simple Smart TV Remote have ads?
Neither Smart Things nor Simple Smart TV Remote shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Smart Things or Simple Smart TV Remote?
Smart Things ships an update weekly, and Simple Smart TV Remote monthly. Most recently, Smart Things was updated on November 13, 2026 and Simple Smart TV Remote on November 6, 2026.

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