TV remote app maker Peel expands into smart home control

BARCELONA, Spain — Mountain View, California-based Peel announced today that its customers want more than just a TV remote app. They want an app that controls appliances throughout the home.

So Peel built it.

“Our customers have pushed us to extend our universal remote capabilities beyond TVs, set-top boxes and other entertainment devices to include additional categories of home electronics,” said Peel cofounder Bala Krishnan. “What they are looking for, and what we will provide, is a unified, multi-device, intelligent home experience controlled from a single smart remote app.”

Peel is announcing here at Mobile World Congress that it’s expanding the number of devices controlled by its remote app to include smart thermostats, lighting, air conditioners, and locks.

Through various connection modes, including IR, bluetooth and Wi-Fi, and new interface screens, the Peel app will let users create whole-room presets that involve multiple appliances.

A living room preset might simultaneously turn on the TV and sound system, close the blinds, adjust room temperature, and lower the lights, for example.

The Peel app already comes preloaded on more than half of all Android phones and tablets sold, Peel claimed, and has more than 100 million users worldwide.

Peel’s app for Android lets you set the channel guide to your local TV provider’s channel lineup and track only the channels you care about. For those with a Samsung Galaxy device (or really anything with built-in IR functionality), the app acts as a universal remote, too.

Peel’s other business is a platform play called Peel.in, which is used by major TV networks (CNN, Fox, HBO, History, NBC, etc.) to promote their programs on Facebook and Twitter.