Comparison

Phil 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

Phil

Control your Philips Smart TV with your iPhone or iPad. This virtual remote offers realistic design and access to essential functions like volume, channel, navigation, and playback controls. Requires your device to be on the same Wi-Fi network as the TV.

Highlights
  • Volume control
  • Channel selection
  • Navigation pad
  • Video playback controls
  • Menu and options access
  • Power off function
Features
Read full description

PhilRemote is a virtual remote control that allows you to control your Philips television. The application works on all TVs equipped with "Smart TV" technology and connected to your (WiFi or Ethernet) network. To use this Philips remote control, your iPhone/iPad must be on the same Wi-fi network as your TV. Detection of your TV will be automatic. With a realistic design, you can use all the functions of the original remote control very easily. We have integrated the most useful commands, the features are listed below: -Change the volume -Change the channel number -Use navigation pad -Video control (Play/Pause/Stop...) -Menu, Options, Info, Tools -Power off If you have any suggestions, feel free to contact us. For any comments or questions write us at the following address: contact@nstx.io DISCLAIMER PhilRemote is neither an official Philips product, nor are we affiliated with the Philips company. SUBSCRIPTION: We offer auto-renewing subscription: - Length: Weekly / Monthly / Yearly - 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 : https://nstx.io/Phil/Phil_privacy.html Terms of Use : https://nstx.io/Phil/Phil_terms.html

About

TV Remote

This application allows you to control your television and access its applications and settings quickly. It supports a wide range of TVs, including Philips, and offers features like wake-on-LAN and multi-device management.

Highlights
  • Control your TV
  • Wake on LAN support
  • Multi-device support
  • Quick access to TV apps
  • Device discovery
Features
Read full description

Your phone becomes the remote for the television you already own. Point it at a Samsung, an LG, a Sony BRAVIA, a Roku, a Philips or anything running Android TV or Google TV. The app works out which remote protocol your set speaks and opens the keypad for it: arrows, OK, back, home, volume, channels, playback and power. FINDING YOUR TV IS FREE Searching your Wi-Fi costs nothing, so you can see whether this app finds your television before you decide anything at all. Most sets turn up by themselves. If yours stays out of sight, type its IP address — it is in the television's own network settings — and the app reaches it anyway. WHAT THE REMOTE DOES • The full keypad for your brand, drawn from what your set actually answers — no keys that do nothing • Type into the TV's search box with your phone's keyboard, instead of pecking out letters with the arrows (Samsung, LG, Roku, Android TV and Google TV) • Open an app from the list the television itself reports • Wake a set from standby over Wi-Fi, which its own remote is usually the only thing that can do • A number pad for channels, and the red, green, yellow and blue keys for teletext and set menus • A trackpad for televisions with a pointer • Every television you own, remembered and one tap apart WHICH TELEVISIONS Samsung — 2016 and newer (Tizen), and the encrypted 2014–15 and pre-2014 protocols. LG — 2014 and newer (webOS), including the on-screen keyboard and the pointer. Sony BRAVIA — the four-digit code the set shows you, or a Pre-Shared Key. Roku — every model, and no pairing at all. Philips — over JointSpace, which is what reaches the sets that speak nothing else. Android TV and Google TV — any make: Philips, TCL, Hisense, Xiaomi, the NVIDIA SHIELD, and Google's own Chromecast with Google TV and Google TV Streamer. An Apple TV and an Amazon Fire TV cannot be driven by another app on the network at all. This app says so rather than pretending otherwise — and the compatibility screen inside it tells you what has been tested on real televisions and what has not. PAIRING, ONCE Some televisions show a PIN, some ask you to allow the phone on their own screen, and a Roku asks for nothing. Whichever yours does, it happens the first time only: the app keeps the key and reconnects by itself afterwards. The phone and the television have to be on the same Wi-Fi. This app is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to Samsung, LG, Sony, Roku, Philips, Google or Amazon; those names appear only to say which televisions the app can drive. THE SUBSCRIPTION Finding televisions is free, and so is the compatibility list. The remote itself is the full version, opened by a monthly or yearly auto-renewing subscription — or by a one-off lifetime purchase for anyone who would rather not subscribe. The free trial opens every part of it. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period; your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours before that. You can manage the subscription and turn auto-renewal off in your Account Settings after purchase. Any unused portion of a free trial is forfeited when a subscription is bought. Privacy Policy: https://sblinov.com/applications-privacy-policy/ Terms of Use (EULA): https://sblinov.com/applications-terms-of-usage/ Support: https://sblinov.com/contact-us/

Screenshots

Phil4 screens
TV Remote4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: TV Remote at 100% against Phil's 17%. TV Remote also leads on rating (5.0 vs 3.1) and ads (none vs shown). Phil's advantage is ratings volume (9.8K vs 1). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model 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. Phil sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days and TV Remote sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. 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, 5.0 against 3.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Phil has 9.8K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 17% of Phil's written reviews are positive against 100% of TV Remote's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Phil ships an update every 4 months, TV Remote every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Phil versus TV Remote: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPhilTV Remote
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.1 (9.8K ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews17.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings9.8K — better1
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size157 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developeryohan teixeiraSerhii Blinov

Customer experience

Phil

All ratings9,754 ratings
Positive52.6%
Neutral3.0%
Negative44.4%
Written reviews277 reviews
Positive17.0%
Neutral4.3%
Negative78.7%

TV Remote

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Phil

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Stopped working after TV update
  • Crashes on newer iOS devices
  • Fails to connect to TV

Requested features

2 requests
  • No ads option
  • Better TV compatibility

TV Remote

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Phil

Subscriptions3
  • Pro mode$4.997 Days
  • Premium mode$9.991 Month
  • Premium version$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Remove Ads$19.99
3 purchases

TV Remote

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly premium access$2.991 Month
  • Annual premium access3 Days trial$11.991 Year
One-time1
  • TV Remote Premium Access$19.99

Questions

Is Phil free?
Phil 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, Phil or TV Remote?
TV Remote is rated higher. Phil averages 3.1 out of 5 from 9.8K ratings, while TV Remote averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Phil or TV Remote have ads?
Phil shows ads; TV Remote does not.
Which is updated more often, Phil or TV Remote?
Phil ships an update every 4 months, and TV Remote every 2 weeks. Most recently, Phil was updated on October 19, 2026 and TV Remote on October 17, 2026.

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