With no iPhone native app after 2 years of wait and no feedback from the developer, Remote Buddy is no longer cutting edge as it once was. The lack of context-aware mapping switching is painful in real life. I keep resorting to using the true and tested Apple remote because of these issues. Tap the Apple TV Remote. Tap your Apple TV or smart TV from the list. When asked, follow the onscreen instructions to enter a four-digit passcode into your Apple TV, iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. The Apple TV Remote in Control Center works only with Apple TV 4K, Apple TV HD, Apple TV (3rd generation), and AirPlay 2-compatible smart TVs.
With more than 140,000 apps in the iPhone App Store, finding task-specific apps or utilities for your iPhone or iPod touch (and soon iPad) isn't the hard part. The hard part is finding the best app for the job. That's why we're launching a new series here at Mashable, where we raid the App Store to find the best apps for a specific purpose. First on our docket: Remote Control apps!
Download FullControl: Remote for Mac and enjoy it on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. FullControl is a fun, and easy-to-use app that turns your iPhone or iPad into a remote control. So you can control your computer with a tap or flick of a finger. The TeamViewer remote control app. for iPhone and iPad allows you to access other devices using your iOS device when on the go: Access Windows, Mac and Linux PCs. Easily access computers and servers remotely using an iPhone or iPad. Access and transfer saved documents. Use software installed on the computer. Transfer audio or video files.
The long-promised convergence of television and the Internet is finally coming. More and more consumer electronics devices come with features like WiFi and built-in support for Internet services. Tools like Boxee (even with the Apple TV) and Windows 7 Media Center make it easier than ever to connect your computer to your TV to enjoy online content.
Last summer, my personal project was creating the ultimate Mac mini HTPC, and in the end, it turned out great. However, one of the most frustrating (and potentially costly) factors of the whole project was finding a viable keyboard, mouse and remote setup. Controlling a computer from the couch is different than controlling it from a desk, and even though I found a lot of great software-based remote options (and a few hardware options too), it turned out that the best (and by far, most cost-effective) method for controlling my entire setup was right in my pocket.
There are literally dozens and dozens of iPhone and iPod touch apps that can control your PC (be it Mac, Windows or Linux), but after using and testing the big players in this field (and even the small ones), I've found five of my favorites. Check them out and be sure to leave your own suggestions in the comments.
*A Note: With one exception, all of these apps are multi-purpose, meaning they are designed to control more than one program. For that reason, some of the XBMC or Boxee-specific apps were left off my list.
1. HippoRemote Pro 2.0
Even before HippoRemote Pro 2.0 was released, this app had a permanent spot on my iPhone's home screen. The Pro version of the app is $4.99 and a less-feature rich basic version is available for $0.99 and a new Lite edition is available for free.
What makes this app so great is that it works with Mac, Windows and Linux, and acts not only as a viable trackpad/keyboard combo, but offers all kinds of app profiles (plus you can create your own) to control applications like Boxee, Windows Media Center 7, Hulu Desktop, your web browser, iTunes, and more. Plus, you can create macros, easily switch apps, wake up your device over LAN, and use international keyboards.
The new version of HippoRemote Pro also features an awesome Boxee plugin that adds the same kind of gesture control as the official Boxee iPhone app, as well as a built-in web browser (for checking the web, IMDB or Facebook) and Twitter client that lets you check your timeline, mentions and send tweets all from the remote application.
Check out this video the team made showing off the new HippoRemote 2.0:
Best Tv Remote App Iphone
At our house we use this on our Macs and Windows PCs and really, really love it.
2. Keymote
![Remote Remote](/uploads/1/1/7/7/117734079/107689053.png)
Keymote from Iced Cocoa is a Mac-only remote control that works by creating little application-specific keysets to control specific actions. Think of it like those macro-based IR remote controls (like the ones Sony used to sell before the Logitech Harmony series took over the market).
What sets Keymote apart is its built-in Keymote 'store' where you can download keysets from other users to use with your favorite apps. The interface is really nice and for users who really like to have key commands and shortcuts at their fingertips, Keymote is great.
3. Remote Jr.
Best Apps For Remote Access On Iphone
Remote Jr. comes in two flavors, the full version for $7.99 or the lite version for $1.99. Remote Jr. Lite doesn't support Wake-on-LAN and doesn't have a keyboard or trackpad/airmouse, but will give you a taste of the app itself.
More than other remote control apps, Remote Jr. really is more of a fully-functional VNC (Virtual Network Computing) app. By this I mean you can view your computer's desktop, access specific elements or apps, and interact with them even when you aren't in front of your computer.
Most of the remote control apps just use WiFi to connect to your components or PC, which is great — but Remote Jr. can connect over GPRS/Edge or 3G, meaning you can access and control your Mac or PC even if you aren't at home. That's pretty powerful. There are other VNC apps out there (namely iTeleport: Jaadu VNC) that have more features, but they also cost a lot more ($24.99) and don't have the remote control and application switching interface built into them like Remote Jr.
A new version of Remote Jr. was just submitted to the App Store, and amongst other additions and improvements, it will bring audio streaming and Apple TV support. Apple TV support is a really great addition that I look forward to putting to use!
Check out this video to see Remote Jr. in action:
Remote Jr. is a great app for people that want a cross between a VNC app and a remote control, without having to buy both.
4. EyeTV
Elgato's EyeTV system is an absolutely fantastic way to turn your Mac into a DVR to record, edit and playback HDTV programming from over the air or cable.
The EyeTV iPhone app is a $4.99 companion that not only lets you control your EyeTV system, but lets you set up recording, view your schedule and programming guide, and play back recording from your computer on your iPhone. You can even stream live TV over a 3G connection, a la the SlingPlayer if you use the free EyeTV Live 3G web app (the EyeTV app will let you watch live TV and record over WiFi without a problem).
When you consider the price of a SlingPlayer and the corresponding mobile app, it makes the EyeTV that much more of a bargain.
5. Snatch
Snatch is a $3.99 remote control app that is extremely similar to both HippoRemote and Keymote. You can control your Mac or PC (and Snatch supports all the way back to Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger).
It has a multi-touch trackpad, a keyboard and a remote control editor. You can edit and design the layout of your remote control, adding buttons to specific functions. You can also create a 'dock' of sorts for the applications that you like to frequently access.
One feature I like about Snatch is that you can see what apps are running and easily switch between them.
Snatch has a ton of fans, and while I still defer to HippoRemote or Remote Jr., it is a worthy player in the remote control space. Before buying Snatch, you can download the free Snatch Trackpad Test app to make sure it will work with your configuration.
Your Picks
Did I leave out one of your favorite remotes? How do you control your Mac or Windows PC with your iPhone or iPod touch? What features are you looking for in a remote control app? Let us know!
[Image credit: Tanais Fox]
More iPhone resources from Mashable:
Apple Tv Remote Iphone App
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What's In Here
- 2 Access Mac Desktop Remotely from iPhone
- 3 Access Mac Desktop Remotely from iPhone – Other Methods
You Will Never Know When You Will Need To Access Mac Desktop Remotely
There are times when we need to go elsewhere but urgently need to use your Mac desktop computer arises. And the situation seems to leave you with no other options – almost nothing is feasible. But hold on. Do you know that you can access your Mac desktop remotely from iPhone?
The following steps might come in handy in the future whenever you need to access Mac desktop remotely and the only choice you have is your iPhone.
We suggest also that you optimize your Mac’s performance and make it run faster. This will make a significant difference when trying to access Mac desktop remotely.
Access Mac Desktop Remotely from iPhone
This option is the first among the ways to access Mac desktop remotely from iPhone. And this is through Remote Login. Whenever you need to remote login to Mac desktop, you will also need to configure SSH (secure socket shell). This is very essential whenever you log from another machine to Mac. Telnet cannot be used to log in to your Mac, so, to set up remote login, here’s what you gotta do:
- First, open Sharing preferences on your Mac desktop; choose Apple Menu > System Preferences > Sharing.
- Next, select Remote Login. Doing this will allow the secure FTP (SFTP) service on your Mac.
- Then, specify the users who can log in to access Mac Desktop remotely from iPhone.
Note: There are two options.
- All Users – any of the PC users and anyone using your network can log in and operate your Mac desktop.
- Only These Users – click Add, then choose those who you want to allow to log in remotely.
How to Assign Users to Access Mac Desktop Remotely from iPhone
A quick note for you to jot down. Users & Groups contains all the users of your Mac. While Network Users and Network Groups are the people who are subscribed to your network.
To log in from another device, open Terminal or any SSH app on that device then type:
For example, for user “johndoe” with a computer IP address 192.168.169.11. Then you should type from the SSH terminal:
If in case you do not know your user ID and IP address for your Mac, you can easily discover it. What you need to do is to open the Remote Login pane on the Sharing preferences and the user name and IP address will be displayed with the “Remote Login: On” indicator.
Take note that when you allow remote login to Mac, your PC will be less secure. Enabling Protect Your Mac is a must.
Access Mac Desktop Remotely from iPhone – Other Methods
However, there are other ways to remotely connect your Mac. One of which is the Apple Remote Desktop which you can purchase for $80 on the Mac app store.
Screen Sharing
Do you know that you can access your Mac remotely using the built-in Screen Sharing feature on your Mac PC?
This is basically a VNC server with several features unique to it. This implies that you can employ standard VNC clients so that you can control your Mac and VNC clients for all kinds of platforms.
In order to activate the Screen Sharing feature, click on the Apple icon on your Mac’s menu bar. This is at the top of your screen. Then, select System Preferences. Next, click the Sharing icon and this will display the Screen Sharing checkbox option.
You will be able to connect by following the control panel instructions. If you have another Mac on the local network, open a Finder window and search for the Shared section of the sidebar – there will be an option available for you to Share Screen.
Remember: The IP address displayed is most probably an internal IP address where your Mac is located on the local network. Thus, it cannot be accessed over the Internet without forwarding ports.
To ensure security, click Computer Settings to set a password. If you don’t do this, you will have to agree for every dialog box that wants you to confirm every time you want to control your Mac remotely.
You can also use your ICloud to set up the Screen Sharing to work over the Internet without using any other software. To do this, you need to open System Preferences, click iCloud and then check Back to My Mac. This will set up the entire process.
Remotely Access Mac From iPhone Using 3rd-Party App
Aside from the above-mentioned method, there is also a TeamViewer app offered for free, as well as the Chrome Remote Desktop extension.
No doubt, at this point, you can already access Mac desktop remotely from iPhone or any other device!
And if you are interested, you can also check our article on how to access Windows 10 computer remotely.
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