The LG Magic Remote made me leave the Roku behind | Jobs Vox

Last summer, my partner and I moved across the country from Connecticut to California. We chose not to move our ten-year-old television because we thought it would be a good reason for a new, elegant upgrade. After a lot of research, we settled on the LG C1, a 65-inch OLED TV with 4K resolution.

We used to use a Roku Ultra as a media streamer because our old 1080p TV (also an LG model) didn’t have any “smartness”. Assuming the Roku Ultra supports 4K streaming, my original plan was to use the Roku. new TV. However, that plan changed when I used the LG Magic Remote for the first time.

Simply put, the Magic Remote blows the default Roku remote out of the water when it comes to usability. In fact, it’s the best universal remote I’ve ever used, including Logitech’s Harmony series and my old favorite Caavo.

I don’t think I can go back now that I’m using the LG Magic Remote.

At first glance, the Magic Remote looks like any other default TV remote. It’s big, has tons of rubbery buttons, and isn’t visually impressive. It wasn’t always like that. LG has gone through some really weird iterations of the Magic Remote, like this weird model from a few years ago.

But now the controls don’t look fancy, but they feel great in the hand. Its weight distribution and ergonomic design make it comfortable to hold. Due to its large size, it is not possible to access all the buttons with one hand, but this shortcoming is made up for in a very convenient way.

The key feature that sets the Magic Remote apart is its pointing system. This allows the remote to act like an air mouse. Using the gyro sensor inside the remote control, you can physically move it to control the on-screen pointer. This eliminates the need to use the D-pad to step from one side of the screen to the other. I can’t stress enough how much it improves the quality of life compared to other remotes. It’s easier and more intuitive to not have to endlessly click from one thing to another.

The main control button is also a click wheel. This makes scrolling through media pages much faster. Again, instead of clicking from line to line, you can scroll as if you were using a mouse. There’s also voice control, including support for Alexa and Google Assistant, but that’s becoming a standard feature of most other systems.

See also: Buying a budget OLED TV has ruined cinemas for me

However, there are some situations where you don’t want to have a pointer, scroll wheel, or voice control. The Magic Remote has a traditional D-pad for normal click controls, so that’s fine. I hardly ever use it, but it’s nice to know it’s there if you want it. Likewise, any visitor has the option of using the most convenient tracking system.

In addition, the remote control supports the control of multiple devices. Thanks to the magic of HDMI-CEC support, my Yamaha 5.1 sound system, my PlayStation 5, and my TV “talk” to each other, and the LG Magic Remote can intelligently control the entire system. When I press the power button on the LG remote, both the TV and the receiver turn on. When I change the volume, it changes on the receiver, not the TV. When I switch the TV input to the PS5 it also turns on the receiver. It just makes sense and everything is done automatically.

I am very used to third party solutions for these problems. The best surprise was that the Magic Remote came out of the box with almost everything I needed. Of course, the key word there is “almost”.

While there was a lot of excitement about the LG Magic Remote, I’ll fully admit that the Roku still wins in some areas. For example, the LG remote doesn’t have a headphone jack, something I miss a lot on the Roku remote. I also miss the smaller form factor of the Roku remote, which is easier to use with one hand.

The Roku platform itself also has advantages that it doesn’t weigh on my TV. Eventually my TV will get old and the webOS version will become obsolete. This will inevitably cause programs and functions to malfunction. At this point, I’ll either have to buy a new TV or ditch the Magic Remote and buy a third-party set-top box.

The battle rages on: What is the best media streaming device?

Third-party streaming boxes offer much more than webOS. Not to mention the thousands of games on the Google Play Store, heavy gaming apps like Xbox Game Pass and Nvidia GeForce Now, LG TVs have almost no gaming apps. New app features sometimes take a long time to make their way into webOS, and Plex is a prime example. Unfortunately, I still can’t launch third-party content directly from Plex Discover on webOS.

But I’ll admit that none of that really matters to me, at least not right now. My TV is a 2021 model, so it might be getting old (although I wish LG would tell me how long it will last). I have a gaming PC connected to my TV so I can play games. Most (if not all) of the missing app features will eventually make their way to me. Right now, having the LG Magic Remote is more than all of these things, as it makes navigating around and opening content much more enjoyable.

Remember how I said our original plan was to continue using the Roku Ultra with the LG C1? The only reason we haven’t done this is because of magic control. However, that doesn’t mean my loyalty is with LG. In fact, I’d be happy to go back to Roku or any platform if the controls weren’t so limited.

Clicking from box to box in a streaming media interface is just silly. It’s 2022, and we don’t need to click dozens of times to switch from one side of the screen to another. Likewise, it shouldn’t take someone 20 minutes to enter their email address in an email inbox because they have to click 100 buttons. Of course, if you’re connected, you can unplug your phone to do this, but what if you’re not? Why would you want to use your phone when you already have the TV remote in hand? LG and Samsung solved this problem a few years ago by using cursors on their remotes, but for whatever reason, Samsung removed the feature and no other streaming platform has adopted it.

Additionally, the controls should be able to control my entire entertainment setup with minimal user effort. More expensive platforms like the Nvidia Shield TV allow you to do this, but good luck controlling your entire entertainment system from the Roku remote.

While the LG Magic Remote is great, let’s face it, it’s not perfect. It’s bulky and ugly. It’s also tied to webOS, which isn’t even close to being the best platform on the market. However, LG’s usability is years ahead of the competition. A single streaming platform to control them all would need a remote control of this caliber to win my dollar.