CES 2022: Samsung’s new TV remote uses radio frequency from routers to stay charged

Samsung has returned to CES with its Eco Remote with added RF harvesting capabilities that will allow the remote to preserve its charge by collecting radio waves from routers and converting them to energy.

Over the years, CES has become a platform for companies to reiterate their dedication to environmental causes and trumpet their latest products and packaging. Last year too, Samsung introduced a solar-powered Eco Remote for its 2021 lineup of TVs.

Besides the new RF harvesting option, the new Samsung Eco Remote can be charged using outdoor and indoor light or over USB-C for the fastest results. Samsung said it was introducing a white model of the remote to better complement its “lifestyle” TVs such as Sero, Serif, and The Frame.

As with the original iteration of the Eco Remote, Samsung’s intention here is to ditch the AAA batteries. Samsung has previously estimated that moving to solar-powered remotes could avoid 99 million discarded batteries over seven years.

The South Korean electronics giant has also explored other ways to self-charge internal batteries such as harnessing the kinetic energy created when shaking the remote and using the vibrational energy created when the microphone picks up sounds.

This time around, however, it has settled on adding RF harvesting as one more way to keep the remote functioning.

Samsung has also jumped onto the crypto train, going by the latest features on its new smart TV lineup. The electronics major has added an NFT Aggregation Platform in its latest smart TV models that it showcased at CES 2022. With this feature, the company aims to allow users browse NFTs for sale and purchase them on their smart TVs.

The NFTs will be fetched from marketplaces and listed on the TVs’ NFT Aggregation Platform, the company said. Users will also get previews of the NFTs and information about the creators. NFT owners will also be able to showcase their assets on the TVs.