AnyMote Smart Universal Remote

I bought this app for the macros and Shortcuts support, which are awesome when they work well (for example, I can just say “hey Siri, game mode” to swap my LGTV from picture modes suitable for movies or games on the Apple TV. Unfortunately, most of the time they don’t work well on the first try. It’s a crapshoot whether the shortcut runs the macro, if the app opens and the macro doesn’t run, if the app just opens and crashes a couple seconds later, or if the macro partially runs but misses the first input. The only foolproof method to get a shortcut to run every time is to swipe the app out of memory (or force close it), reopen it, and then run the shortcut, which defeats the whole point when then you’re basically just running the macro within the app (which always works great). It’s likely some of the problem rests on Apple’s end, but the fact that this app hasn’t been updated in a year is a little concerning. It’s a very useful remote on its own, but a major feature being majorly buggy currently holds it back from greatness. A widget would also be extremely useful for this kind of app and could fill in for what’s currently lacking with Shortcuts support.

AnyMote fits into the ABANDONWARE category. The app was highly recommended in articles over the internet, so I paid for the pro version. It had great potential, but all the support links were broken and there weren’t any updated videos on how to use the features to make the remotes AFTER the hardware RF blaster was abandoned. Without support, I found it was not an intuitive app, but I eventually managed to teach myself what I needed to know to get along for a bit. Unfortunately, when I wanted to program complicated buttons, the lack of updated support information made the program unworkable for me. AnyMote abandoned the supporting hardware that was featured in the original videos and instructions, then recommended users purchase a similar device from Broadlink. After a little online digging, I found that Broadlink is making some changes that may make the supposed support device a waste of money and their customers are quite upset about it. The last software update for AnyMote was a year ago. The Facebook page for AnyMote has had no activity for ages. I’ve asked Apple for a refund. The app should be removed from the App Store unless the developer starts supporting it, again.

I think what I love about this app is the response of the dev team. I made some suggestions to them and they did it in an update. That shows you that they are listening to us and understanding our application. Then making the adjustments to make our user experience better. The price for premium at 7.00 is far less than user licenses for some of the other remote options out there. I haven't ventured into their IR hub yet as most of my stuff is already wifi enabled. But I can tell you that I have turned an old iPad mini into my home remote and it is so slick. It's impressive too. My friends and family are always trying to play around with it. The integration with Alexa is really nice. Novel but nice, and easy to set up to boot. The ability to make your own buttons with macros is life changing. The fact that you literally design your own remote with the feel you want and the functionality you need is not only fun, but easy. Why four stars and not five? It's not perfect. There are kinks. But they hear you when you talk to them. As long as they keep updating with new features as well as making improvements on what's already there, this will be a five star app no problem. I wanted this to be an honest review and hope it helps. Edit: My review went from a 4 star to a 1 star and I didn’t do it so I’m putting it back to 4. I have no clue as to how that happened. Still love this app.