It doesn't solve all of my gripes with TV remote controls. There are plenty of reasons that a business would choose not to pursue this sort of change – it took time and budget that could have been used developing some more impressive feature, it adds complexity to the manufacturing process, and nobody is likely to buy a $1,000+ TV based on the design of the remote. It's a small convenience that will go unnoticed by the user 99% of the time. It's also the sort of change that a lot of manufacturers might not want to do. Your life is a little easier thanks to the change, and the world is a little better off because of it. It's not a new technology – it's the solar tech of an 80's pocket calculator applied to the TV remote, it could have been done pretty much anytime in the last 40 years – but it's a smart idea.
That little solar cell on the back of the remote can pull enough power from indoor lighting to keep the rechargeable battery topped up for up to two years before it needs to be plugged in and charged (via USB-C port), and the battery itself is rated for seven years of use, roughly the usable life of the TV it comes with.Īnd that's the best kind of innovation, because it solves more than one problem at a time.
But the secondary effect of this change is that you'll never find yourself stuck in that awkward moment when you've opened Netflix, but can't select a movie because your batteries just died.