Comparison

Sam vs TV Remote ‣

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

Head to head
About

Sam

Transform your iPhone into a virtual remote for your smart TV. Easily control channels, volume, menus, and media with a simple tap. It syncs automatically via Wi-Fi, eliminating the need for physical remotes and batteries.

Highlights
  • Virtual remote control
  • Channel switching
  • Volume adjustment
  • Menu navigation
  • Media management
  • Automatic Wi-Fi sync
  • No setup required
Features
Read full description

SamRemote: Transforms your iPhone into a powerful, virtual remote for your smart TV. Our intuitive TV remote app streamlines your tv experience, allowing you to easily control your TV with all the features of the original remote control. With a simple tap, switch channels, adjust volume, navigate through menus, and manage your media - all from your iPhone or iPad. The best part? SamRemote requires zero setup. Simply launch the app and it automatically syncs with your Smart TV via your Wi-Fi. You're all set to take command of your TV Say goodbye to the days of losing your physical remote or scrambling to replace batteries. With Sam, your ultimate TV control is always in your pocket, ready whenever you are. Experience smart TV viewing as it should be - simplified and under your command. DISCLAIMER Sam is neither an official Samsung product, nor are we affiliated with the Samsung Electronics company. SUBSCRIPTION: We offer auto-renewing subscription: - Length: Yearly-Monthly-Weekly - Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase - You will be able to access the Premium features of the app for the duration of the subscription - Subscription automatically renews for the same price and duration period as the original period unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period - The account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period at the cost of the chosen package. - Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's iTunes Account Settings after purchase - No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during the active subscription period - You may cancel a subscription during its free trial period via the subscription setting through your Apple account. This must be done 24 hours before the end of the subscription period to avoid being charged. Please visit https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202039 for more information on how to proceed. - You may turn off the auto-renewal of your subscription via your Apple Account Settings. However, you are not able to cancel the current subscription during its active period - Any unused portion of a free-trial period will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription. Privacy Policy : http://nstx.io/SamRemote/samremote_policy.html Terms of Use : http://nstx.io/SamRemote/samremote-terms.html

About

TV Remote ‣

Control your Samsung, Roku, or Fire TV with your iPhone or iPad. Offers broad compatibility with various TV models and streaming players. Features dark/light mode and 24/7 support.

Highlights
  • Samsung TV control
  • Roku streaming player control
  • Fire TV control
  • Wide model compatibility
  • Dark and light mode
  • 24/7 support chat
Features
Read full description

Control your Samsung TV, Roku or Fire TV straight from your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. * Supported Samsung TVs: All TVs from 2010-2013 & 2016 - 2023. * Supported Tizen TVs: TVs made by Akai, Bauhn, Linsar, Tempo, RCA, Vispera, HKC, Sunny, Axen, Atmaca. * Supported Roku TVs: Hisense, Sharp, TCL, Insignia, Hitachi, Philips, Element, JVC, Hisense, RCA. * Supported Roku Streaming Players: Roku Stick, Roku Express, Roku Premiere, Roku Ultra, Roku Soundbar, Roku Streambar, Now TV Stick & Box, Sky Ticket Stick, Telstra TV Box, Roku 1-4 and legacy models. * Supported TVs with FireOS: AmazonBasics HD/FHD, AmazonBasics 4K, Element 4K, Insignia HD, Insignia 4K, Toshiba 4K, Insignia/Toshiba 4K UHD, JVC 2K, JVC 4K, Grundig Vision 6 HD, Grundig Vision 7 4K, Grundig OLED 4K, Onida HD, Onida FHD, ok 4K. * Supported Amazon Fire TV Streaming Players: Fire TV Stick 4K, Fire TV Stick Gen 1-3, Fire TV Stick Lite, Fire TV Gen 1-3, Fire TV Cube Gen 1 & 2. * No hidden subscriptions * Supports dark and light mode for iOS 13+ devices. * 24/7 Support Chat * Your iPhone, iPad or iPod and your smart TV device must be connected to the same wifi to enable Samsung TV, Roku or Fire TV Remote Control. Please do not use VPN, Proxy, VLANS and Subnets. If you like the app and our constant work on it, please give the app a positive rating on the App Store. Many thanks in advance from the development & support team This app is brought to you by the developers of Video & TV Cast, the #1 video casting app in the world with more than 100.000.000 downloads across all platforms and devices. Disclaimer: This app is not affiliated with Samsung, Roku, Amazon Fire TV or any other trademark mentioned here. ROKU, the ROKU Logo, STREAMING STICK, ROKU TV, ROKU POWERED, the ROKU POWERED Logo, ROKU READY, the ROKU READY Logo, "STOP DREAMING. START STREAMING.", "HAPPY STREAMING", "THERE'S A TON OF ENTERTAINMENT IN THIS LITTLE BOX," and "NOW THIS IS TV" are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Roku, Inc. in the United States and other countries.  This app is not affiliated with Amazon or any other trademark mentioned here. This app was not created or endorsed by Amazon.

Screenshots

Sam4 screens
TV Remote ‣4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: TV Remote ‣ at 70% against Sam's 26%. TV Remote ‣ also leads on rating (4.5 vs 4.2) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 16). Sam's advantage is ratings volume (116K vs 8.9K). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Sam sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days and TV Remote ‣ sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

TV Remote ‣ holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sam has 116K ratings behind it against 8.9K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 26% of Sam's written reviews are positive against 70% of TV Remote ‣'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Sam ships an update every 2 weeks, TV Remote ‣ monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Sam versus TV Remote ‣: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSamTV Remote ‣
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (116K ratings)4.5 (8.9K ratings) — better
Positive reviews25.6% of reviews69.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings116K — better8.9K
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterMonthly
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS169.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size67 MB48 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developeryohan teixeiraKraus und Karnath GbR 2Kit Consulting

Customer experience

Sam

All ratings116,472 ratings
Positive79.5%
Neutral4.6%
Negative15.9%
Written reviews1,814 reviews
Positive25.6%
Neutral8.3%
Negative66.0%

TV Remote ‣

All ratings8,795 ratings
Positive87.1%
Neutral3.7%
Negative9.2%
Written reviews197 reviews
Positive69.5%
Neutral4.1%
Negative26.4%

User reviews

Sam

From 116K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Works well when connected
  • 👍 Easy to set up
  • 👍 Convenient to use phone as remote

Room to improve

  • 🔋 Frequent disconnection issues
  • 📺 Can't turn TV on with app
  • 💸 Expensive paid version
  • 📢 Excessive ads in free version
  • 🐛 Inconsistent functionality

TV Remote ‣

From 8.9K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Connects instantly
  • 👍 Convenient remote control
  • 🚀 Works flawlessly
  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Reliable connection

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Loses connection frequently
  • 🔋 Volume buttons don't work
  • 🐛 Compatibility issues with some devices
  • 🐛 Requires frequent reconnection
  • 🐛 Unstable connection

Bugs and requests

Sam

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Fails to connect to TV consistently
  • Buttons stop working after a while
  • Paid version loses ad-free functionality

Requested features

3 requests
  • Add option to turn TV on/off
  • Improve stability and reliability
  • Reduce frequency of ads in free version

TV Remote ‣

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Fails to connect to some devices
  • Disconnects randomly during use
  • Unresponsive buttons

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add volume control buttons
  • Improve connection stability
  • Support for more device types
  • Ability to power on/off TV

In-app purchases

8 purchases

Sam

Subscriptions5
  • Premium version3 Days trial$4.997 Days
  • Premium version$7.997 Days
  • Premium version$14.991 Month
Show 2 more
  • Premium version3 Days trial$29.991 Year
  • Premium version$29.991 Year
One-time3
  • removal of advertising$3.99
  • removal of advertising$19.99
  • Premium version$34.99
1 purchases

TV Remote ‣

One-time1
  • Premium Edition$9.99

Questions

Is Sam free?
Sam is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is TV Remote ‣ free?
TV Remote ‣ is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Sam or TV Remote ‣?
TV Remote ‣ is rated higher. Sam averages 4.2 out of 5 from 116K ratings, while TV Remote ‣ averages 4.5 from 8.9K ratings.
Do Sam or TV Remote ‣ have ads?
Both Sam and TV Remote ‣ show ads.
Which is updated more often, Sam or TV Remote ‣?
Sam ships an update every 2 weeks, and TV Remote ‣ monthly. Most recently, Sam was updated on November 4, 2026 and TV Remote ‣ on November 3, 2026.

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