True to its name, the Logitech Harmony Ultimate Home is the ultimate universal remote control. It takes the place of last year's Harmony Ultimate, and in many ways is a very similar controller. But in addition to a new white paint job (a classic black version is also available), the Harmony Ultimate Home has added support for a wide array of connected home devices, allowing you to control just about every digital device you own right from your smartphone or the remote itself. Its $349.99 price tag still makes it hard to justify if you don't have a complex home theater setup or a ton of connected devices, and Z-Wave and ZigBee device compatibility will require you to buy an additional extender. But the Logitech Harmony Ultimate Home is the most powerful universal remote you can buy, and worthy of our Editors' Choice award.
Design
Aside from the option of a snazzy new white model, the Harmony Ultimate Home could easily be mistaken for the Harmony Ultimate. It has the shape and feel of a standard remote control, albeit one with a 2.4-inch touch screen in the middle. You get physical buttons for channel/volume control, navigation, and playback; everything else can be found on the touch screen.
The remote is glossy on top, with a matte, lightly textured finish on the underside, which makes it feel rubberized and grippy. It measures 7.3 by 2.2 by 1.3 inches (HWD) and weighs 4.77 ounces, which feels substantial, but not heavy. It has a curve on the bottom that feels natural to grip, along with a piece that juts out underneath the touch screen to make it easier to hold. It's a lot more comfortable than the remote that came with my TV. There's a covered micro USB port on the bottom, in between two metal contacts that let you charge the remote in an included cradle.
You also get Logitech's new Harmony Home Hub, which again looks virtually identical to the Harmony Hub that came with the Harmony Ultimate. The Hub is a small box that works with the remote and uses Bluetooth, infrared (IR), and Wi-Fi to control your various devices. Logitech includes two IR blaster cables, which you can run to nearby components in order to control them even if they're behind a cabinet. I wish there were an option to get the Hub in white to match the remote, but it's fairly small and tends to blend in with its surroundings.
Setup
Setup is even easier this time around, as it all takes place right from your smartphone (though you can still set things up on your computer using Logitech's Harmony Web app if you choose to do so). After charging the remote and finding a place for the Hub, you must download the Harmony app to your Android or iOS device. Harmony Home works with most iPhone and iPad models (including the iPhone 4S or later, the third-generation iPad or later, and the fifth-generation iPod touch or later) as well as devices running Android 4.0 and up. The app will guide you through the setup process, in which you'll have to pair your phone and the Hub via Bluetooth, then provide the password for your Wi-Fi access point. This only takes about a minute or two.Once connected to Wi-Fi, the app can automatically scan the network for any connected devices it can control. It automatically recognized a Samsung HDTV, an Apple TV box, a Roku Streaming Stick, Sonos Play:1 speakers, and Philips Hue lights. Everything else can be added manually by plugging in the brand and model number of the device you wish to connect; the Harmony database is currently aware of over 270,000 devices with full control support, and I had no trouble locating everything I wanted to connect. You can connect up to 15 devices in total. There's also a way to add any missing devices and teach the remote the proper commands, but I didn't have to do this.