Skip to main content

This little black pillar turns your iPhone into an intuitive all-in-one remote

For the horde of iPhone owners who’ve been looking for a way to transform their beloved devices into an all-in-one remote control, the going has been slow and the results, disappointing. However, a partnership between Phillips and the company that has transformed millions of Android phones into universal remotes, Peel, may have just come up with the ultimate solution: Say hello to Pronto.

Debuted on the showroom floor at CES 2015 Unveiled in Las Vegas, Pronto is a battery-powered little unit that shoots infrared in 360 degrees to thousands of devices, in order to allow control over virtually anything in your home theater. Pronto uses Bluetooth BLE to speak through Peel’s intuitive and simple iOS app to follow commands from your iPhone.

And unlike most devices we’ve seen in this camp, there is almost no lag involved. Punch the volume, and the volume changes. Hit pause on the Blu-ray, and voila, the movie is frozen.

Peel’s reps say the new Phillips-crafted device will last almost a year on a pair of AA batteries. It’s set up to work with thousands of TVs and other devices — including an Apple TV — as well as offering an electronic channel guide from your local cable or satellite provider. And this being the age of smart … well, everything, the Pronto is also designed to follow your TV habits, and learn what you’re into to offer helpful hints. Best of all, this baby is only $50, making it one of the cheapest iOS all-in-one remote solutions we’ve seen on the market.

We’ve only spent a bit of time with the Pronto, and we’re already fairly excited about its potential. The device is slated to arrive sometime in January. And if you’re still wary of its talents (believe us we understand), you can hold off for our forthcoming review, as we’ve got a Pronto of our own on order.

Ryan Waniata
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Ryan Waniata is a multi-year veteran of the digital media industry, a lover of all things tech, audio, and TV, and a…
From a $20K soundbar to a $200 speaker set, these are the best audio products of CES 2025
The Foacl Diva Utopia speakers with grey felt panels in a suite during CES 2025.

While the CES of today is no longer an exhibition for the biggest hi-fi brands the way it has been in the past, we had no problem finding plenty of interesting and innovative audio products at CES 2025. From established companies entering new categories (or launching exciting new products in traditional categories) to up-and-coming brands creating new and intriguing devices, the annual Las Vegas show gave us a sneak peek into the months and years ahead. Here’s what we found.
Dolby Atmos/Cadillac Optiq in-car demo

The inside of a car is quickly becoming one of our favorite places to experience Dolby Atmos music. When properly implemented, listening to the format in a car cabin is an emotional experience -- and the engineers at Cadillac have definitely implemented Dolby Atmos incredibly well in the Optiq. The process started almost two years before we sat in the car at CES 2025, and it was important for the team to get it right.

Read more
LG Display confirms what Panasonic told us at CES — new four-layer OLED is here
The LG G5 OLED TV displayed in a suite at CES 2025.

It seems as though Panasonic forced LG Display's hand when it announced at CES 2025 the new panel technology at use in its new Z95B OLED TV -- a new four-layer OLED panel structure that increases brightness while improving efficiency at the same time. Today, LG Display has confirmed that it has developed this new tech, while providing more details than LG Electronics did last week when we met with them.

For context, the new G5 OLED LG debuted gets brighter than last year's model, but without the benefit of the MLA (Micro Lens Array) technology LG developed specifically to achieve the improved brightness it needed to compete with QD-OLED and micro-LED. At the time, LG was coy on the new technology that helped the G5 get demonstrably brighter than its predecessor, the G4 OLED TV ("We'll have more to talk about at the reviewer's workshop later this year," they told us), but we had strong suspicions it was a new four-layer OLED panel technology.

Read more
Has 1More cracked the code on affordable Wi-Fi headphones?
1More SonoFlow Max Over-Ear Headphones HQ70.

We almost walked right by 1More's booth at CES 2025, but I'm glad I stopped in. Sitting there amidst the company's existing wireless earbuds and headphones was a set of wireless cans I didn't recognize. I was struck by the design -- they look like a mashup of Sony's WH-1000XM5 and Apple's AirPods Max -- but it's what they do that really caught my attention: They're 1More's first Wi-Fi headphones, and if all goes well, they could be the first Wi-Fi headphones that are priced within reach for most people.

Their official name is 1More SonoFlow Max Over-Ear Headphones HQ70. 1More expects them to be available by the end of September 2025. We don't know how much they'll cost, but given 1More's reputation for delivering high quality audio at ultra low prices, my guess is that they'll be under $300.

Read more