In the past, universal remote is a very versatile device which will ease your task when it comes to controlling multiple system in your home even though it is mainly used for home entertainment system. In present day, this device is upgraded to be even more modern with voice command. Two products that offer the said capabilities are Harmony Hub vs Broadlink RM Pro with their similar yet different features. If you are interested on trying the device but is confused about which to choose, go check our article below.
In this article, we are going to give you information about:
– What are Harmony Hub and Broadlink RM Pro
– What Harmony Hub and Broadlink RM Pro Look Like
– What Harmony Hub and Broadlink RM Pro can offer to you
– Harmony Hub vs Broadlink RM Pro
About Harmony Hub
Logitech has been around for quite some time now launching many dependable products loved by their customers including the universal remote that offer the capabilities to control various other devices in your home. They even improved what’s already good in their popular device to offer a voice command capability which is introduced in their Home Hub and then upgraded into this Harmony Hub in 2014. This new way to control your smart devices is great because now you don’t even have to deal with remote anymore since the operation is done via smartphone.
Harmony Hub Design
Looking at Harmony Hub for the first time, this unit has the appearance of media streamer or TV boxes with the simple rectangular design and round corners. It has a black glossy finish with the brand name printed at the surface. The thin depth will make it looks pleasant even when place in sight. It measures around 4.9 x 1.0 inches and it can be connected using either Bluetooth, Infrared, and Wi-Fi. Coming in the package, there is an IR blaster when you have to control the components that is placed outside your sight.
Harmony Hub Features
Popular for the amazing compatibility of their Harmony universal remote, this device is also similarly powerful in term of covering many other devices with its continuously growing 270.000 compatible devices across 6.000 different brands in the market. In present day, the company already adding the compatible device list with a staggering array of TVs, set-top boxes, Blu-ray, and media streamers. Even Microsoft Xbox One and PlayStation 4 can be connected via Bluetooth or IR which is hard to do in other hubs. Read also: Fire TV Cube vs Harmony Hub here.
Along with the home entertainment system, this device adding its value with the ability to control your home automation because it can work with many different smart home and automation system such as Ecobee, Nest, Philip Hue, Lutron, LIFX, and Samsung SmartThings. In addition, Harmony Hub supports the If This Then That recipes if you want an access for more custom automation while you may also adding their POP switches to the mix.
In the voice command side, this device can be connected to Amazon Alexa voice assistant devices like the Echo which then let you control different devices using voice commands, so you will need those devices if you also want to get the voice command capabilities. This device is working with both Android and iOS devices, so almost all people can use it while setting up itself also won’t be too confusing even though you will still need to learn the curve.
About Broadlink RM Pro
Harmony Hub is sure not a cheap product and if you also want to purchase Alexa devices, you may want to lower your budget for the hub and look for another similar device but with more affordable price. If you also feel the same, you may want to take a look at another option, the Broadlink RM Pro. This unit is not only have the same capabilities with a good price but also compatible with so many other devices which makes it a good pick to go.
Broadlink RM Pro Design
From the outside, Broadlink RM Pro looks like pyramid but without the top since this one has a flat top surface. It is quite small and even though has a decent depth, the unit won’t look annoying even when placed in a visible place. It has a glossy black finish with the product name printed at the front face while at the base you can see a pair of indicator lamp. To connect with your other devices, this hub will use either Infrared or Wi-Fi but it won’t be able to use Bluetooth.
Broadlink RM Pro Features
The company has released a similar hub in the past but this one in our article is their newer version which claimed to work better. To do its job properly and completing the tasks you gave to it, this hub works with all infrared devices and all radio frequency devices, so it will be able to control all of your home appliances using just one smartphones to replace all of the traditional remote that operate them one by one.
Setting up is done pretty quickly with Broadlink RM Pro and you can download the free app in either Play Store or App Store according to your operating system. Even though this hub still can’t receive 5G signal, it works great with either 3G or 4G network to control smart home appliances like TV, Set-top box, smart light switch, electric curtains, air purifiers, air conditions, fans, and many more. What’s even greater is the compatibility with Alexa, so now you can perform voice command.
However, to use this feature, you have to download their another free app called the IHC or Intelligent Home Center. Another good functionality is the IFTTT interaction, so now you can custom control your other devices.
Comparison
Now, let’s compare Harmony Hub with Broadlink RM Pro. As you can see, what Harmony Hub can do is also possible in Broadlink RM Pro and the only minus in this device is probably only the lack of Bluetooth connectivity.
Harmony Hub vs Broadlink RM Pro
Conclusion
All in all, the decision is all yours to make. In our opinion, both of them are equally good depend on your preference. In term of features, both of them basically can do what the other can but the lack of Bluetooth connectivity will also make it unable to control those devices that only works with the particular connection. However, looking at the price and features set, we will recommend you the Broadlink RM Pro since it is much more affordable.