For those of you that turned to one of Logitech’s Harmony universal remotes to escape the mountain of remotes in your home, we have some sad news: Logitech has killed the Harmony line of remotes. If you own a Harmony remote or wanted to buy one, take a breath. As of now, the company says it will continue to support existing and new Harmony customers.
In a post on Logitech Support on Friday, the company said that while its Harmony remotes continue to be available through various retailers, it will stop manufacturing them moving forward. Nonetheless, this doesn’t seem like it will affect current or even new Harmony users, at least the way Logitech explains it.
“We expect no impact to our customers by this announcement. We plan to support our Harmony community and new Harmony customers, which includes access to our software and apps to set up and manage your remotes,” a Logitech Support representative wrote on the site. “We also plan to continue to update the platform and add devices to our Harmony database. Customer and warranty support will continue to be offered.”
In other words: Logitech is saying that your remotes will still work. Additionally, it says that its goal is to “keep service running as long as customers are using it.”
The company also affirmed that it planned to continue to make updates to the Harmony software for desktop and Harmony apps for Android and iOS. It will continue to offer a support team as well as offer resources on the Harmony support page.
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Logitech stated that its remaining Harmony inventory will still be available as supplies last through selected retailers for customers to purchase. It will still continue to maintain the Harmony database and software but will no longer upgrade the line or develop new products for it.
The announcement capped years of rumors and speculation that the company was looking to give its remotes the boot. In 2019, Logitech CEO Bracken Darrell said that the remotes were a small part of its overall business and that they were losing relevance in a world dominated by streaming services.
“I think over time, you’ll have fewer and fewer people who feel like they really need that universal remote,” Darrell said on the Vergecast. “Now you have a different problem: you have 10 different streaming services, and I want to watch Friends. Where do I watch it? So it’s less about different devices and more about different streaming services.”
Yet, even in 2019, Darrell said that Logitech would always take care of Harmony customers, who “really love” the remotes. He’s not wrong. Even critics really like it. The Harmony remote makes frequent appearances on buyer’s guides, including Gizmodo’s own guide. On the announcement page, dozens of users expressed their dismay.
“Wow. I don’t get shaken up by much but this has rattled my home theater cage,” one user wrote. “Is this really the end? Please tell me we’re there’s some future for the Harmony hardware line. Please!”
RIP Harmony. Let’s hope Logitech keeps its word and offers faithful Harmony customers service for as long as they want it.
