Is it worth the upgrade?

If you happen to’ve bought a Hearth TV machine otherwise you’re looking for one, Amazon is raring to promote you the newly-released Alexa Voice Distant Professional as an additional accent. I just lately had a chance to check one, evaluating it towards different Hearth TV remotes to guage whether or not it actually makes a distinction for the media streaming expertise.

In brief, the Voice Distant Professional is a $35 substitute for the usual Alexa Voice Distant that’s suitable with most media streamers and TVs primarily based on Amazon’s Hearth TV platform. It’s not obtainable as an in-pack — even the top-of-the-line Hearth TV Omni QLED comes bundled with the vanilla Voice Distant. It provides further buttons, backlighting, a Distant Finder characteristic, plus some minor upgrades. We’ll dive into all of those shortly.

You’ll wish to verify Amazon’s official compatibility checklist earlier than shopping for one, however there are comparatively few merchandise it gained’t pair with. These embrace the first and 2nd gen Hearth TV, the first gen Hearth TV Stick, the Echo Present 15, and the Factor Hearth TV Version. Most conspicuously, you’ll be able to’t pair it with the Hisense U6HF ULED, regardless of that TV being launched in Could 2022. It additionally gained’t work with Insignia HD or FHD TVs, although it’ll work with that model’s UHD and F20 units.

I examined the Voice Distant Professional utilizing a Hearth TV Stick 4K Max, which is second solely to the Hearth TV Dice in Amazon’s line-up of streaming packing containers and sticks. Each the distant and the Max had been equipped by Amazon. Through the first-time setup, I found that you just completely need to pair the Max’s bundled Voice Distant earlier than you’ll be able to add the Voice Distant Professional — the stick refused to acknowledge the Professional in its setup wizard. This wasn’t an enormous downside, since I simply added the Professional later utilizing the Hearth TV’s Settings menu. You need to use each remotes concurrently and, actually, having a backup distant could also be helpful for causes we’ll clarify in a minute.

The Professional provides quite a lot of small however vital conveniences, the obvious being further buttons. There’s a devoted Settings choice, a channel selector, and a headphone button that jumps to the Bluetooth menu for faster wi-fi audio pairing. The final one is type of area of interest, however it’s a thriller why a Settings button isn’t on the usual Voice Distant — Hearth TV customers must open Settings on a semi-regular foundation to verify notifications and power app updates, by no means thoughts different controls.

You’ll discover a Settings button (and/or a channel selector) on some third-party remotes just like the Insignia one above, so the most important deal right here is the addition of two customizable shortcuts, labeled “1” and “2”. By urgent and holding them, you’ll be able to assign a wide range of actions, the first decisions being to launch apps or run Alexa voice instructions. I assigned 1 to YouTube as an illustration, and a couple of to “Alexa, activate the Dwelling Room lights.” You gained’t hear any vocal reply if you happen to set off an Alexa command this fashion.

Customizable app shortcuts are extraordinarily helpful, because the shortcuts on different Hearth TV remotes are locked to providers you won’t use. Sure, you’re in all probability streaming from the likes of Netflix, Disney Plus, and/or Prime Video when you’ve got a Hearth TV machine, however not everybody has all three subscriptions, and different providers could also be extra necessary for some viewers. The one catch with customized shortcuts is that you need to keep in mind what you’ve assigned to every of them, and share that data with different individuals in your family.

Distant Finder

If you happen to lose the Professional, you’ll be able to ask an Alexa machine (or the Alexa and Hearth TV apps) to “discover my distant.” That triggers a loud ringer, making the Professional simple to trace down, no less than if it’s inside earshot.

There are a few different caveats. The characteristic has a variety of 30 toes (about 10m) round your TV, and your Hearth TV machine must be on, which is perhaps a Catch-22 if it’s the rationale you’re on the lookout for the distant within the first place. This is the reason it’s best to grasp on to the usual Voice Distant as backup.

Backlighting

If you happen to wish to dim your lights for ambiance, the buttons on the Professional illuminate everytime you nudge it or choose it up. It’s a sensible addition that makes it simpler to inform what you’re urgent, though in a pitch-black room you should still need to fumble a bit to seek out the distant, what with it being practically all black to start with.

Higher development

The Professional is solidly constructed. It’s nonetheless product of plastic, however feels sturdier within the hand than many Hearth TV remotes, and its texture is much less slippery. It’s additionally simpler to entry the battery compartment, actually versus Amazon’s default Voice Distant. Whereas that one requires odd hand and finger placement, and generally an excessive amount of power, the Professional opens simply by urgent down on the arrow marker and sliding — the way in which it must be.

Do you want the Professional? No, particularly if you happen to’re snug utilizing Alexa. Added buttons would possibly save just a few seconds right here and there, however you’ll be able to accomplish most of what they do with voice instructions. When you have a Hearth TV Dice, a Hearth TV Omni, or a linked Alexa speaker, you don’t even must have a distant in your hand. You need to use voice to launch apps earlier than you sit down.

The story adjustments if you happen to want bodily controls or hate Alexa. Whereas the usual Voice Distant is succesful sufficient, the Professional smooths widespread actions in a method that makes Hearth TV a extra nice expertise. If you happen to dwell in a house the place individuals ceaselessly misplace issues, the Distant Finder characteristic alone is perhaps price it to stop arguments and save your sanity.

If you happen to’re within the Professional and have the spare money, then there’s no motive why you shouldn’t get one. The improve is beneficial sufficient that, arguably, the product ought to mechanically be bundled with higher-end Hearth TV units.