Logitech has announced a new remote control called Harmony Express, which removes the touchscreen of the previous version as well as a number of its programmable buttons and opts for a more minimalistic design and a little help from Amazon’s Alexa.
Yes, that’s right: Logitech has built Alexa directly into the remote and you can simply speak into it and hear Alexa’s responses via a built-in speaker. That means that you can just walk into your living room and ask Alexa to open Netflix for you as you are setting up comfortably with your popcorn on the sofa.
The new Harmony remote comes with a new companion app, which only works with this particular model. That also means that the remote is not compatible with the older Harmony app nor is the app compatible with older remotes.
The remote charges via Micro USB and the setup is quite simple: just power up your devices and allow the app to scan for them. Then all you have to do is drag and drop every device to its HDMI port in order for the Express to know where to find them. Then you will be asked to link the Harmony Express to your Amazon account.
While you can tell Alexa to open up Netflix, it won’t be able to play the show you want to watch so you’ll still have to use your popcorn-oiled fingers to use the pad and navigate the Netflix menus.
Of course, you can still ask the remote the same things you normally would ask Alexa, such as weather or news information. And don’t worry – it will not wake up whenever it hears its name or some word that sounds like its name. Unlike the Echo devices, the remote will only wake up when you press the button on the remote.
The Harmony Express is already up for sale, with a price tag of $250.
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