I didn’t think one of the coolest things at CES 2022 would be a remote. And yet, here we are. Thanks, Samsung. Seriously though, Samsung’s new remote is pretty damn neat.
Let’s backtrack for a second to CES 2021. There, Samsung released an Eco Remote that stored solar energy which was used to recharge an internal battery. This year’s model, along with using solar energy, can convert routers’ radio waves into energy, ensuring it stays fully charged.
Radio waves from routers usually go unused because they’d only be good for very low-power devices. It turns out, a remote is an ideal candidate—you don’t need much energy to use it, and it stays dormant for long stretches, allowing it to recharge.
Harvesting radio waves isn’t a new idea, but the technique rarely makes its way into actual products you and I can use. Now, the remote can’t operate on RF energy alone; the upgraded Eco Remote also uses solar energy from either outdoor or indoor light and has a USB-C port as a backup.
As Samsung noted with the previous model, using solar power alone could prevent 99 million batteries from being discarded over seven years, or the average lifetime for a TV.
Aside from its eco-friendliness and ability to charge in a variety of ways, the Eco Remote is a remote like any other. On the front are all your standard buttons, including shortcuts to popular streaming services like Disney+, Netflix, and Prime Video. And while we’re talking about saving the environment, the Eco Remote is made of recycled materials, and this year, it comes in a fresh white color.
Best of all, the Eco Remote isn’t just a marketing scheme designed to increase goodwill; Samsung says that the new remote will be included with all of its 2022 TVs.
