No more looking for AA batteries: At CES 2022, Samsung unveiled its all-new Eco Remote, the first remote that can charge wirelessly using your router.
The company’s first Eco remote, showcased at CES last year, gave consumers a new option for charging with solar power. But this year’s Eco Remote presents a really big upgrade. By harvesting RF energy from your Wi-Fi router, the remote completely eliminates the need for any type of traditional batteries.
In fact, the Eco remote doesn’t even have a battery of any type in its case. Instead, it contains a capacitor capable of storing small amounts of energy that it collects from any 2.4GHz RF signal within a 40-meter radius. That’s pretty solid coverage, which means this technology is a step above other wireless charging options regularly used for smartphones and other small devices.
The new Eco remote control also supports the aforementioned solar charging option. This means that, if for some reason your router is turned off or you are unable to pick up the RF signal, the remote can still be charged by placing it face down under a lamp or other major light source.
We cannot remember any other consumer device that recovers energy using RF, although Notions we have talked about it in the past. Never having to charge your remote or change its batteries might seem like a minor added convenience, but life can get pretty tough sometimes so we’ll take what we can get, right?
Unlike last year’s Eco Remote, which was only available in black, Samsung’s new Eco Remote is available in black or white and is created from recycled materials. The remote will ship with all Samsung 2022 QLED 4K and 8K TVs.
Be sure to check out all the latest product news on our CES 2022 live blog, which we update with all the latest announcements.
