A few years ago, such a headline might have caused much bewilderment among most TV users, but recently, at the annual exhibition CES 2022, Samsung introduced the remote control charging function from Wi-Fi radio waves.
The introduction of the Samsung SolarCell Remote was one of the most discussed and interesting at the show, as this technology will be mass applied to consumer electronics for the first time.
The Samsung company stated that every seven years about 99 million AAA batteries are thrown away, with most of them ending up in landfills, producing hazardous substances. The environmental problem is what motivates Samsung to develop similar technologies that minimize the involvement of foundry batteries in their products
More about Samsung SolarCell Remote 2022
At CES 2021, Samsung showed a SolarCell Remote for TVs equipped with a solar panel. Over the course of a year, the company further developed the device and added another charging technology.
The remote control will now also engage in so-called RF energy harnessing, converting electromagnetic radiation from Wi-Fi into electricity to charge the battery. In theoretical terms, this means that the remote control should always remain charged, without the need to charge it manually.
With these innovations, Samsung wants to completely eliminate the use of conventional aa batteries for its remotes.
How energy is stored in the new consoles
Some space must be allocated in the remote control to store the absorbed energy. However, the new SolarCell Remote won’t have a lithium-ion battery, instead, it has a special capacitor that can store a small amount of energy.
Although the capacitor doesn’t store much energy, it’s enough to keep the remote in working order. Unlike batteries, which do this chemically, capacitors do this physically in a form similar to static electricity.
What are the ways of charging the new Samsung remote control
The new Samsung SolarCell Remote 2022 supports three charging methods:
- Charging using sunlight.
As with the previous model, the remote is capable of using sunlight to keep it charged. All you need to do is find a sunny spot in your house, turn the remote control so that the solar panels look up, and let the sunlight power the battery.
However, there are situations where the room in which the TV is located may not have access to sunlight, for such cases, new technology was developed
- Charging via Wi-Fi radio wave absorption.
Charging the remote via Wi-Fi is a great innovation that Samsung will be universally introducing into Samsung’s new flagship QLED 4K and 8K TVs in 2022.
As previously mentioned, the new remote collects a small amount of power from any 2.4 GHz RF signals within 40 meters.
That’s pretty great coverage and essentially doesn’t have the disadvantage of properly positioning the remote, as in the case of charging through sunlight.
- Charging via Type-C port
For very rare cases the developers have left the possibility to charge the remote control using a cable. This way of charging can help in the rare case when you have no Wi-Fi or sunlight in the house, which of course happens very rarely.
One of the advantages is that charging is very fast and doesn’t take more than a couple of minutes.
How the new Eco Remote 2022 differs from its predecessor
At first sight, the 2022 model isn’t different from the previous model. It’s also made of recycled materials, has a traditional shape, standard Smart TV buttons, and a few shortcuts for apps such as Netflix and Disney +.
However, there are small differences, in addition to the introduced Wi-Fi charging function, the remote control is now available in black or white color. The previous model was only available in black color.
What about those who do not have or want Wi-Fi?
Thus, I suggest a small battery (Ni metal hydride rechargeable?) would be applicable addition to your remote.
Al Roffey