In my relatively brief time dealing with Android smartphones, I’ve only owned one device with an IR blaster, but in the two years that I had it, I absolutely loved it. I was able to turn down air conditioners, not bother about finding the TV’s remote, and even control set-top boxes.
However, many manufacturers don’t seem to particularly rate infrared blasters as a feature worth putting in their devices. These days, it seems exclusively limited to phones from Chinese manufacturers. Regardless, if you prioritize the feature, here are some of the best phones you can get with IR blasters.
Summary Of Best Phones With IR Blasters
- Best Overall: Honor Magic 6 Pro
- Best Cameras: Xiaomi 14 Ultra
- Best Budget: Xiaomi Redmi 13
- Best Design: OnePlus Nord 4
- Best Performance: Redmagic 9S Pro+
Honor Magic 6 Pro
Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 | Display: 6.8-inch LTPO AMOLED, 120Hz, Dolby Vision, 5000-nit peak brightness, 1280 x 2800 | RAM: 12GB, 16GB | Storage Options: 256GB, 512GB, 1TB | Rear Camera: 50MP variable aperture (f/1.4-f/2.0) wide with OIS, 180MP 2.5x periscope telephoto with OIS, 50MP ultrawide, 4K/60 support | Front Camera: 50MP, 4K/30 support | Battery: 5,600mAh, 80W wired charging, 66W wireless charging
The Honor Magic 6 Pro is one of the best smartphones that you can get right now — period. Not only do you get an IR blaster, but you get a proper flagship device surrounding the rest of it. That means a fantastic screen, a top-end camera, a large battery with speedy charging, and plenty of power. Perhaps a 1440p screen would have been nicer — that’s the only nitpicking I can muster.
One of my favorite things about the Magic 6 Pro is that it is very good-looking and it will certainly stand out in a crowd with its good looks. Honor is an underrated brand and I think power users who usually default to Samsung to give them a look to see whether they might like what Honor has to offer.
Xiaomi 14 Ultra
Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 | Display: 6.73-inch LTPO AMOLED, 120Hz, Dolby Vision, HDR10+, 3000-nit peak brightness, 1440 x 3200 | RAM: 12GB, 16GB | Storage Options: 256GB, 512GB, 1TB | Rear Camera: 50MP variable aperture (f/1.6-f/4.0) wide with OIS, 50MP 5x periscope telephoto with OIS, 50MP 3.2x telephoto with OIS, 50MP ultrawide, 8K/30 support | Front Camera: 32MP, 4K/30 support | Battery: 5,000mAh, 90W wired charging, 80W wireless charging
It seems that triple-camera setups have become the sweet spot for most manufacturers, but those who are looking to set themselves as camera kings don’t mind adding a fourth camera to the mix (usually a second telephoto). That’s the case with the Xiaomi 14 Ultra which totes a quad-50MP setup, including a variable aperture primary lens. It is also capable of 8K recording and can be fitted with 67mm filters.
Besides being a camera king, the device quite obviously comes with an infrared blaster. Everything else is as you’d expect from a phone carrying the “Ultra” nomenclature. It’s a flagship device through and through. If you’re looking for a complete package, you won’t find yourself disappointed here.
Xiaomi Redmi 13
Processor: MediaTek Helio G91 Ultra | Display: 6.79-inch IPS LCD, 90Hz, 550-nit high-brightness mode, 1080 x 2460 | RAM: 6GB, 8GB | Storage Options: 128GB, 256GB | Rear Camera: 108MP wide, 2MP macro, FHD/30 support | Front Camera: 13MP, FHD/30 support | Battery: 5,030mAh, 33W wired charging
But what if you want an IR blaster but don’t have over $1,000 to fork out for a flagship device? Fortunately, having an infrared blaster included has never been an exclusive flagship feature, and you can get it with the right phones in the lowest price tiers, such as the Xiaomi Redmi 13 which will set you back less than $200.
The rest of the device isn’t too shabby as you get a nicely-sized battery with wired charging faster than Samsung’s $1,900 foldable, a headphone jack, a microSD card slot, an okay primary camera, and a good screen for the price. There’s a glass back too, which is rare at this price point.
OnePlus Nord 4
Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 | Display: 6.74-inch AMOLED, 120Hz, HDR10+, 2150-nit peak brightness, 1240 x 2772 | RAM: 8GB, 12GB, 16GB | Storage Options: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB | Rear Camera: 50MP wide with OIS, 8MP ultrawide, 4K/60 support | Front Camera: 16MP, FHD/30 support | Battery: 5,500mAh, 100W wired charging
The OnePlus Nord 4 is the latest device from the Chinese manufacturer and there’s one thing that makes it distinct from other devices in the market. That’s its design, as it is the first metal unibody device that we’ve seen from a mainstream manufacturer in several years. It goes for the “Pixel-style design” with a small glass panel near the top, but the sides and most of the back are made from a single piece of aluminum.
The trade-off that you’ll have to make with its metal body is that you don’t get wireless charging (though OnePlus doesn’t even put wireless charging on some of its phones that could support it). Besides that though, it stands out in all the right ways and you still get the magic of an IR blaster.
Redmagic 9S Pro+
Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 | Display: 6.8-inch AMOLED, 120Hz, 1600-nit peak brightness, 1116 x 2480 | RAM: 16GB, 24GB | Storage Options: 512GB, 1TB | Rear Camera: 50MP wide with OIS, 50MP ultrawide, 2MP depth, 8K/30 support | Front Camera: Under-display 16MP, FHD/60 support | Battery: 5,500mAh, 165W wired charging
If you want as much performance as you can possibly get on a phone that comes with an IR blaster, then there’s no better place to find yourself than in the home of ZTE’s sub-brand Nubia, with its gamer-focused Redmagic 9S Pro+. With a top configuration that comes with 1TB of UFS 4.0 storage and 24GB of RAM, paired with an overclocked Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, there’s no phone with a Qualcomm chip that surpasses this one.
You’ll get a lot of gamer-centric features and a flagship experience on most of the spec sheet (though I’ll advise that if cameras are extremely important to you, these ones might not blow your mind). If you can handle the very “gamery” aesthetic of the device, then you’re going to love this one.
