The One Feature I Wish Apple Had Added to Its New iPhones
By all accounts, Apple’s new iPhones are fantastic.
Reviewers, including our own David Pogue, are gaga over them. And that’s partly because Apple has adopted — and some would say perfected — several features familiar to owners of top-of-the-line phones running Android’s operating system.
The screens on the new iPhones are larger, for one thing, as Apple increased iPhone display size for the first time in two years in order to keep up with Android phones. The new iOS operating system, meanwhile, will let you choose what kind of keyboard you want to use, including those made by companies (gasp!) other than Apple.
These are all improvements — and features that appeared first on Android phones. That’s not a criticism or a putdown: It’s fantastic, and smart, that Apple adopts the best ideas from its competitors, just as its competitors have adopted the best ideas from Apple.
But there’s one Android-only feature that Apple did not include in either the iPhone 6 or the iPhone 6 Plus that would have greatly improved the phone, and that I would have loved to have seen Apple’s take on. It’s an Android feature I use every day — and that you would, too, iPhone owner. It’s available on all of Samsung’s flagship phones and on great new phones from LG and HTC as well.
It’s a feature that my friends marvel over when they see me use it. And when they ask how they can get it on their iPhones, I have to sadly shake my head and tell them it isn’t available.
I’m talking about a little gizmo that sounds insanely geeky but that, in fact, allows for something that’s slap-yourself-in-the-forehead practical: It’s called an IR Blaster, and it’s the one feature I’m most disappointed Apple didn’t load onto the new iPhone.
At its most basic level, an IR blaster transforms your device into a universal remote control. The IR blaster lets you control any television or cable box from your smartphone; all of your televisions’ remote controls become available through a single app on your phone. This tiny device, embedded in your phone’s guts, enables your phone to communicate with most televisions and cable boxes, and can also control some DVD players, streaming media boxes, sound systems, and even air conditioners.
It might sound clunky, but it works terrifically.
On Samsung’s phones, for example, the IR blaster comes with a centralized app called WatchON. When you first fire it up, WatchON walks you through the setup. You just choose the manufacturer of your television, the phone performs some tests, and within a minute you’re able to turn your TV on and off, change the channel, and control the volume from your phone. You can then also choose your cable provider — DIRECTV, DISH Network, Time Warner Cable, whatever — and you’ll get an interactive grid on your smartphone that lets you see what shows are on, tune in to whatever channel you want, and set your DVR.
Samsung’s WatchON app, shown here controlling both a TV and a DVR. (CNET)
You don’t need to plug any special gizmo into your TV set to make this work; your television probably contains the technology it needs already. I’ve got remote controls set up for my apartment, my girlfriend’s apartment, my parents’ house, the television in front of me at the office, and several of my friends’ living rooms. (I also have my phone set up to control televisions at a few of my favorite sports bars around New York. Don’t tell anyone.)
The benefits are obvious. If you lose your actual remote control, you have to tear apart couch cushions and lift up furniture to find it. If you lose your smartphone, you can just call your phone number.
If you watch TV while fiddling with your phone — and, let’s face it, you do — then you’ve already got the remote control in your hand. You can also take control of almost any television you want with it; so if you’re at a hotel, you can add your room’s TV in a flash. If you’re visiting relatives, you can gain control of that television without having to learn to navigate their byzantine system of remote controls.
You can take advantage of all this, that is, if you own something other than an iPhone. There were murmurs leading up to Apple’s event this past week that the iPhone 6 would become the first iPhone equipped with an IR blaster, but those rumors quickly faded.
And now we know: Neither the iPhone 6 nor the iPhone 6 Plus can control your television. You can buy a dongle that you plug into either your phone or your television set. Both represent unattractive, non-ideal solutions.
The absence of an IR blaster in the new iPhone obviously should not keep you from purchasing one. It is not a deal-breaker. It is not a sign that Apple has lost its touch, or that it is behind the times, or that it is clueless as to the needs of American smartphone shoppers.
It is a bit of a letdown, however. Just like the larger screen and third-party keyboards, universal remote capability would have improved the iPhone 6 and, too, would have supplied yet another excellent reason to opt for an iPhone rather than one of its many competitors.
Ah, well; maybe next year. What else is on?
CORRECTION: In a previous version of this article I said that you’d be able to choose default apps in iOS 8. That’s not the case. You can replace your keyboard, but you can’t swap in Google Maps for Apple Maps. Dang.
