Epishine, a company that makes optimized solar cells for indoor lighting, has announced that its technology is being used in a new remote control for Google TV devices, as spotted 9to5GoogleThe remote will rely on rechargeable batteries rather than disposable batteries, and thanks to the use of solar cells on both sides, its power will only run out once it’s buried in the dark abyss of your sofa cushions and forgotten,
The new remote is made by Ohsung Electronics, an official Google reference remote supplier. Companies making Google TV streaming boxes or dongles can design their own remote controls from scratch, but they can also use Google’s reference remote designs as a shortcut to speed up their hardware development. For example, Walmart’s On device includes a remote based on Google’s design.
The new solar-powered option using Epishine’s technology will be known as the G32 Reference Remote, but it’s not being bundled with any Google TV devices yet, and you can’t buy it alone. Current versions of Google’s reference remotes include the G10 with 22 buttons and the G20 with 38 buttons, but companies can customize these designs to provide quick access to streaming platforms in addition to popular options like Netflix and YouTube.