Your smartphone can be used as a universal remote control​

Google recently launched a new remote-control app for Android phones that lets you control compatible Google TVs and Android TV operating system devices. You can add the remote to the Quick

Settings tiles on your Android phone. “I can’t point to a single solution that truly works universally well with all of the gear I tend to use or have tested." ​ — Greg Tarr, HD Guru

home theater systems website On the iPhone, you can take advantage of the remote-control app for Apple TV inside Control Center. On models dating back to iPhone X, swipe down from the upper

right corner of the screen to surface Control Center; swipe up from the bottom edge of the screen on prior models. The Apple remote can also control AirPlay2-compatible devices, which lets

you stream games, music, photos, podcasts and videos from the phone to those devices. Now the bad news: None of these apps designed to replace a tangle of physical remote controls is

perfect, at least not yet. “I can’t point to a single solution that truly works universally well with all of the gear I tend to use or have tested,” says Greg Tarr, managing editor of HD

Guru. The website is devoted to consumer news and reviews around home theater. Tim Brennan, who runs UniversalRemoteReviews.com, has found several physical remotes designed specifically for

older adults, but "there really is no single universal remote app that I would have recommended to my now-deceased parents in their later years.” He says he’s tested lots of “junky”

remote apps, many that he found buggy or that served up “obnoxious” ads if you didn’t pay for the full version. FREE APPS WORK WELL, EXPERT SAYS Brennan does have a few favorites. At the top

of the list is Logitech Harmony Hub, which can turn your smartphone into a remote that you can swipe and tap to control multiple TVs and 270,000-plus entertainment and smart home devices

from more than 5,000 brands. It works with voice, too, and is compatible with both iPhones and Androids. Here’s the catch: The wireless Harmony Hub it requires costs $99.99. And this option

is not perfect, either. Brennan points to places in the app where a less-tech-savvy person could get lost. What’s more: While Logitech says it will continue to service its current remote

control and hub customers, the company announced that it will no longer manufacturer new models once the current inventory sells out. Brennan ranks Apple’s own Apple TV app high, and the

same for Google’s official Android TV remote and Amazon’s Fire TV offering, each of which is free. He likes the Roku Remote Control: RoByte app from TinyByte Apps, as well, which is free

with some in-app purchase options. Some apps do permit the use of voice, but that’s no nirvana either. The experience can be “irksome,” says Adam Wright, senior analyst for smart home and

office devices at International Data Corp. (IDC). The provider of market intelligence, advisory services and events is based in Needham, Massachusetts. “Voice interfaces should be seen as an

additional tool to help with navigating and searching for content,” he says. But if you ask a remote to “Show me funny movies,” you’ll likely see a screen of options that will turn into a

“crapshoot on whether or not that command will be executed satisfactorily."