Logitech Harmony Companion vs Elite vs Express 👉 Easy Guide

Author
Recent Posts

Gained early experience with automation technology in the private and industrial sector, can turn his living room into a movie theater with one voice command and is the owner of this website. He is happy to share his accumulated experience with every new article.

Logitech Harmony Elite: The Best Universal Remote Control!

Check Price:

AMAZON*

If you want to turn your living room into a home theater or just control all your electrical or smart home devices with ONE remote, Logitech’s Harmony Elite Universal Remote* is the best solution right now.

This smart remote control has dominated the market for some time now, as it is compatible with just about everything, has a sophisticated design and can be operated very intuitively via touch screen and voice commands.

You could even use it to operate your electric fireplace or ceiling fan!

Compatibility with many Smart Home devices gives you virtually limitless possibilities. So you can control not only your TV, speakers, game consoles and amplifiers but also smart sockets or smart lights.

This universal remote control is perfect for anyone looking for an easy-to-use universal remote control for all their equipment while appreciating a chic and functional design.

Design and Operation

The design of the Logitech Harmony Elite features a sleek and functional design with illuminated buttons and an ergonomically pleasing exterior. Due to the artificially increased weight and the rubber back, the universal remote control feels very good in the hand.

The Harmony Elite comes with a charging station that allows you to recharge the built-in battery every few days. If the battery gives up, you can of course also replace it. However, the service life of the battery is several years.

Probably the most convincing argument of the Harmony Elite is the large color touch screen at the top of the universal remote control. The Harmony Elite’s color touch screen with haptic feedback sets it apart from all other universal remote controls. The touch screen allows you to reach and control all your connected devices and execute device-specific commands. It is very easy to switch between the individual connected devices without having to search a lot.

The haptic feedback also makes it feel very satisfying when you press a button on the touchscreen. The touch screen confirms this with a slight vibration.

Under the touch screen are the physical buttons, some of which can also be customized for the individual Smart Home devices that you have connected to the universal remote control. You can, for example, switch your Philips Hue lamps on and off and dim them!

If you want to learn more about smart light, read our detailed article about why Philips Hue continues to be at the forefront and how it can even equip your garden with smart light!

Installation

With all these features, you probably get the impression that the installation is getting quite complicated – but that’s not the case at all! On the contrary, it is even very intuitive and structured to do.

The installation can be done either via your smartphone or via a USB port with a PC or Mac. The most practical is probably the Smartphone App, with which you can easily and quickly adjust and customize the universal remote control.

When you save settings in the app, these changes are instantly synced to the Harmony Elite. Well, actually, the remote synchronizes itself via its Hub, which will be near your TV and connected to the wifi. Through this base station – the Hub – the Harmony Elite automatically synchronizes itself and takes over all settings. The Hub is, so to speak, the brain of the remote control.

Best of all, the Hub does not need to be in visual contact with the remote control. So you can hide it in your cabinet next to the amp or anywhere else.

To connect other devices to the remote, you need to find them in the app. The app will automatically connect it to the remote and you’re done. This process is the same for TVs, speakers, smart lights and all other devices.

Programmability & Customizability

Some time ago I needed four single remotes to watch my favorite series on Netflix. By switching to the Logitech Harmony Elite, I now only need one!

You will notice this difference very quickly!

But the biggest change and the most benefit are the adjustable activities with which you can operate several devices at the same time. For example, I can program one button to turn on the TV, speakers, and amplifier, set my smart light in my living room to a home theater atmosphere, and automatically load the Netflix app on the TV. So you can turn your living room into a home theater at the touch of a button! This is truly home automation par excellence!

By the flexible connection of Smart Home devices, the possibilities are actually only limited by your creativity. Just as you can turn on all your devices with one button and set your smart light to a fitting mood, you can undo everything with one button too. You could also program your own “bedtime” activity to turn off all but the lights in the hallway.

Smart Home Integration

Logitech is increasingly focusing on Smart Home compatibility and so is the Logitech Harmony Elite. You can connect almost any Smart Home device to the Elite. Logitech has also added a few physical buttons to the universal remote that you can use, for example, to directly control your smart light or create individual commands for your fan or heater.

With the app, you can configure the buttons and use them to operate any Smart Home device. It is compatible with over 275,000 devices. This also includes Amazon Alexa, SmartThings, Nest, Philips Hue and so on.

Advantages and Disadvantages: Logitech Harmony Elite

Pros:

Colour touch screen with haptic feedback (vibrates slightly to confirm button press)
Illuminated buttons
Knobs individually adjustable
Compatible with Alexa, Google Home & Co.
Supports Philips Hue, Nest, SmartThings, IFTTT and more
Can be coupled with up to 15 devices simultaneously
Good price-performance ratio

Cons:

Fewer voice commands than Harmony Express
No “find my remote” feature

Check Price:

AMAZON*

Logitech Harmony Express: Perfect with Alexa

Check Price:

AMAZON*

The Logitech Harmony Express* is an ingeniously simple universal remote that can do just about anything. It makes use of the smart voice assistant Amazon Alexa.

Logitech and Alexa really make a great team here.

Setup and Installation

Logitech has a lot of experience in designing universal remote controls and knows what it takes to easily install and connect the remote to a variety of devices.

Through automatic search algorithms, the Harmony Express finds available devices and guides you intuitively through this process with a simple app. The app is available for all smartphones with Android and iOS.

As with the Harmony Elite, you can program activities in the app. So you can address your TV and speakers together and turn them on and off with a voice command.

To use the voice commands you just have to activate the Harmony Skill for Amazon Alexa and you’re done.

The Express App

The Logitech Harmony Express does not use the normal Harmony App but the new Express App. The new app is much easier to use and has a more modern interface with an intuitive user interface. This makes it even easier and faster to connect the Harmony Express to your home theater or other entertainment systems.

First, connect the Hub and remote to your wifi and create a Logitech Harmony account. With this account, you can connect different Harmony devices to each other and the universal remote control to Alexa.

Showing the devices from the home theater to the remote control is made really simple within the app. After that you have to tell it which device you are using for streaming, so it knows which device to turn on when you add the voice command.

Just like the other Logitech Harmony universal remote controls, the Express can communicate with virtually any TV, speaker, sound bar, Blu-ray player and any other home theater device.

The database of infrared signals available on the Express can reproduce any signal from these devices, replacing any other remote control. In addition to infrared, the Express also has Bluetooth and wifi to communicate with devices over the network or with Bluetooth. If your home theater is extremely modern, you may not even have any infrared devices at all and only control it via Bluetooth or wifi.

The number of compatible devices is about the same as the number of voice commands you can use to control them with Alexa! The Harmonie Express serves as a stand-alone Alexa interface, just like an Echo Dot or Echo Plus. With Alexa’s universal remote control, you control your Smart Home devices directly and don’t have to go through another device.

The only difference for the remote is that when a voice command is given, the control is done through the Amazon software and not through Logitech’s software. To activate Alexa you have to press and hold the big round button in the middle of the remote control. It reacts only after you have pressed the button and doesn’t listen all the time like an Amazon Echo.

Operation

The ease of use is probably the biggest advantage of the Harmony Express. To turn on the TV with all its peripherals, all you have to do is say “Turn on the TV”. To change the channel, just press the button and say “switch to channel XY”.

You can also use channel names instead of numbers and access your recorded programs by voice command and then select from the list of your recordings.

It is as easy as that to start a Smart TV App like Netflix, Hulu or Amazon Prime. This also happens via voice commands, although the command sounds somewhat different. After pressing the button, do not say “turn on device XY”, but “go to Netflix App” or “go to Amazon Prime”. The Harmony Express responds to these particular words, which more or less forces you to memorize these phrases. Whereby there isn’t really much to learn, there is actually only a handful at most and they are very intuitive.

Once you’ve configured the Harmony Express and connected it to your entertainment system, you can control any electrical devices connected to it with any other Alexa or Echo device in your home. However, there are many situations in which the universal remote control is faster and more precise than the voice commands on Alexa devices.

The Harmony Express is a good compromise between performance and ease of use. It’s easy to set up and gets the most out of Alexa’s capabilities to start your hardware with voice commands. And it doesn’t overload itself with pointless features or buttons on the remote control that you don’t use anyway!

Its simplicity and streamlined operation really set it apart from many other universal remote controls. The Harmony Express is designed to accept direct voice commands. If you want to program complicated activities like turning off multiple devices at the same time depending on each other, the Harmony Elite is definitely better suited.

But if you don’t want to geek out over your Smart Home with all its features and just want to control your TV and the like comfortably by voice command, the Harmony Express is definitely worth a look!

Advantages and Disadvantages: Logitech Harmony Express

Pros:

Small with simple design
Simple installation process
Can be controlled with Amazon Alexa

Cons:

Almost useless without Amazon Alexa

Check Price:

AMAZON*

Logitech Harmony Companion: Our Budget Pick

Check Price:

AMAZON*

If you don’t want to spend too much on your universal remote but still want to access many of the great Logitech Harmony features, there’s the Harmony Companion*.

Also with it, you will be able to exchange your collection of remote controls for only one remote control.

Logitech is at the forefront of universal remote controls with the Harmony series. And not only in the high-end segment but also in more affordable price segments, Logitech does not fool anyone.

The Logitech Harmony Companion universal remote control comes in a stylish and secure package, just like we are used to with Logitech. The following is included in the scope of delivery:

Harmony Companion Remote Control
Batteries
Harmony Hub
IR Mini Blaster
USB cable
AC adapter
Manual

Design

One of the most important features of good remote control is its ergonomics. If it fits not well in your hand, it always feels a little awkward to use it.

As with other Logitech remote controls, the Harmony Companion is designed to be comfortable and ergonomic to use.

The Harmony Companion not only feels good, but it also looks great and looks like a premium product – which it is despite its price. The case of the Harmony Companion is made of a soft plastic that feels very good in your hand. The surface gives it a good grip so it does not slip.

From the side, you can see that it is not straight, but curved. This makes it very easy to reach all buttons even with smaller hands without using the remote control with two hands or juggling it constantly with one hand.

There are not too few or too many buttons on the remote control. Logitech has worked on the design until they found the perfect number of buttons. From the standard navigation elements and a number pad, there are also buttons for smart home devices such as smart light or smart sockets. The ingenious thing about the buttons is that you can link them to any function or activity you have defined in the Harmony app.

Harmony Hub – The Brain of Remote Control

The smart remote control draws all its computing power from the Harmony Hub. The Hub is responsible for transmitting remote control commands to all connected devices. It does this with the built-in infrared blaster. The IR signals are strong enough that the infrared rays reach every device in the room, so you don’t have to worry about where to place the Hub.

If you do have some trouble with a stable signal, you can use the included separate infrared blaster to expand the signal. And even if this is not enough, you can buy a second one and connect it.

Apart from infrared, the Hub can also communicate via Bluetooth with compatible devices, such as PlayStation & Co.

The design of the Harmony Hub is as slim and stylish as that of the remote control. The Hub is so small and discreet that it doesn’t stand out in your entertainment system.

Installation and Operation

The Logitech Harmony Companion setup process is as simple and intuitive as Logitech’s other universal remote controls. Thanks to the Harmony App, which is available for iOS and Android systems, it’s even easier than with a normal manual. Within the app, each installation step is explained in detail.

First you have to download and start the app. Then you can immediately start the guided setup process in the app. Once the Hub is paired with the Companion remote, you need to set up wifi access and a Harmony account. This allows the Harmony App to synchronize all your settings with your Harmony account and get the latest updates.

The app will then try to detect immediately available devices on the network. Typical devices are Bluetooth speakers, game consoles, and so on. If your devices aren’t found automatically, you can also add them manually.

Once you’ve connected all your devices, you can create activities. Activities are commands that allow you to perform multiple actions simultaneously at the touch of a button. The programmable buttons on the remote can be programmed with these activities. The first activity I’ve created is to turn all my home theater devices on and off at the same time. In this activity I can set exactly what I want to have as the default setting for which device. This saves me having to press several buttons on several remote controls. Now it is only one!

It takes less than an hour from unpacking until you have programmed a finished activity with which you can control everything at the touch of a button. If you have some experience in the Smart Home area, it is also much faster. It took me barely half an hour, and that’s only because I tried as much as possible out of curiosity.

Advantages and Disadvantages: Logitech Harmony Companion

Pros:

Does not require visual contact with devices
Highly customizable through programmable activities
Very good price-performance ratio

Cons:

Not so many possibilities than the Harmony Elite

Check Price:

AMAZON*

Bottom Line

I hope you are smarter after this article than before and know which Logitech universal remote is the best for you.

All I can say is that my Harmony Elite has given me a lot of comforts and saved me the time and effort of using three to four remote controls separately until I can watch my favorite show on Netflix.

After all, the Smart Home theme is about automating everyday activities that you like to do without as much as possible and thus having more time for the nice things in life. And with Logitech’s smart universal remote controls, this is also possible with an entertainment system.

	Top Pick	For Alexa	Budget Pick
Name	Logitech Harmony Elite	Harmony Express	Harmony Companion
Image	*	*	*
Connection Types	wifi, Bluetooth and Infrared (IR)	wifi, Bluetooth and Infrared (IR)	wifi, Bluetooth and Infrared (IR)
Touchscreen	Yes	No	No
Smartphone App	Yes	No	Yes
Supported Apps	Netflix, YouTube, Amazon, Hulu, iTunes, HBO	Netflix, YouTube, Amazon, Hulu, iTunes, HBO	Netflix, YouTube, Amazon, Hulu, iTunes, HBO
Number of Supported Devices	> 275,000	> 275,000	> 275,000
Number of Connectable Devices	15	15	8
Channel Favorites	50	-	-
Can Control Smart Home Devices	Yes	Yes	Yes
Voice Assistants	Alexa, Google Assistant, Apple Siri.	Alexa	Alexa, Google Assistant, Apple Siri.
Voice Commands	Few	Many	Few
	Check Price*	Check Price*	Check Price*

Attention: When installing electronic equipment, please be sure to observe the manufacturer’s safety instructions. You have to take care of your own safety. The information on this site only helps you to learn.
Disclosure: This website is the property of Martin Lütkemeyer and is operated by Martin Lütkemeyer. Martin Lütkemeyer is a member of the Amazon Services LLC Affiliate Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to enable Web sites to earn advertising revenue through advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Links marked with * are affiliate links.