You never really need to explain why a universal remote is a good idea. You have a lot of things that need to be controlled; This thing controls them all. Many companies have planned to create products based on this idea, and one product came much closer than most. It was called Harmony, and for many years it was the best universal remote on the market. Maybe that was the only thing that mattered. And yet, even Harmony couldn’t make it work.
on this issue of version historyWe tell Harmony’s story. The VergeDavid Pierce, Nilay Patel and John Higgins are joined by Mills CEO and former Nest co-founder Matt Rogers with two decades of experience behind buttons and touchscreens. The product starts out as the EZ Zapper, takes off, gets sold to Logitech, expands like crazy for several years… and then starts to fade away. Sure, you could argue that smart TVs and integrated entertainment systems have made the whole idea irrelevant. But there’s something about the universal remote that seems as attractive as ever. So we try to find out why.
This is the first episode of the fourth season of version history. (we are so Back.) For the next several weeks, we’re telling a bunch of stories about the smart home, from Hue lights to Keurig coffee to viral sensation The Clapper. Here’s how to get every episode and all our other fun stuff as soon as it drops:
If you want to learn more about Harmony’s history and legacy, here are some links to get you started:
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