Samsung Galaxy S4 turns into smart TV remote with IR sensor and WatchOn

And now, with the announcement of its latest flagship smartphone, Samsung has taken the idea of a built-in remote control on a smartphone just a little bit further. The Samsung Galaxy S4, which was just announced as the newest Android-powered Galaxy-branded smartphone from Samsung at an event held in New York’s Radio City Music Hall, comes with a built-in IR blaster. This in turn will allow its users to transform it into a full-fledged smart TV remote control.

This type of feature was first demonstrated with the Samsung Galaxy Note tablets. Then called Samsung Video Discovery, it can be used to control a user’s media center, look up on-demand content, check the latest TV programs, and even purchase media directly from any compatible devices. Now that the Galaxy S4 is here, the feature’s name has been changed to WatchOn. But it still works in pretty much the same way.

With most of the Galaxy S4’s new software features being touted as merely gimmicks by some people, this is one of the things that will surely be useful.