Updated September 2026. Logitech discontinued the entire Harmony line back in 2021, and most of this guide’s original picks are gone. SofaBaton now owns this market, so we rebuilt the guide around what you can actually buy today, re-checked every listing, and added current prices throughout.
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Product links in this guide are affiliate links.
Modern TVs juggle streaming boxes, soundbars, consoles and cable boxes, each with its own remote. A good universal remote replaces the whole pile with one device and, more importantly, with one button press: a well-built “activity” turns on the TV, switches the input, wakes the soundbar and launches the streamer in a single step. These are the best touch screen (and near-touch-screen) universal remotes you can buy right now, compared by what they control, how they control it, and what they cost this month.
Best Touch Screen Universal Remotes: 2026 Picks Compared
All five listings verified in stock on Amazon on September 1, 2026. Prices move; treat every figure below as “around”.
| Product | Best for | Screen | Protocols | Price (Sept 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SofaBaton X1S | Best overall: hub + app, up to 60 devices, Alexa/Google | OLED + scroll wheel | IR, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi (hub) | around $170 |
| SofaBaton X2 | Best premium: full touchscreen + charging dock | Color touchscreen | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, IR, RF | around $360 |
| SofaBaton U3 | Best without a hub: one-touch macros | OLED + scroll wheel | IR, Bluetooth, RF | around $130 |
| One For All URC7985 Pro Touch | Best SofaBaton alternative: touchscreen, app setup | Touchscreen | IR, Bluetooth | around $130 |
| Logitech Harmony Ultimate One (Renewed) | Harmony loyalists only: discontinued, stock thin | 2.4-inch touchscreen | IR | around $249 |
1. SofaBaton X1S: Best Overall
Best features: Hub-based control of up to 60 devices, OLED scroll wheel, app-driven setup, one-touch activities, works with Alexa and Google Home. Around $170.
The SofaBaton X1S is the spiritual successor to the Logitech Harmony ecosystem: a hub sits by your gear and controls devices even inside closed cabinets, the remote talks to the hub, and a genuinely good smartphone app handles setup. Build activities like Movie Night that power on the TV, soundbar and streamer in sequence with one press, or trigger them by voice through Alexa or Google. Its database covers hundreds of thousands of IR and Bluetooth devices, so even an older receiver or a projector is usually a search away rather than a programming session.
What you give up against the X2 is the screen: the X1S uses an OLED readout and a scroll wheel rather than a true touchscreen, so day-to-day control happens on physical buttons with the display confirming what you have selected. In practice that is a feature as much as a compromise. Buttons work by feel in a dark room, and the wheel makes hopping between devices fast.
Choose it over the X2 if you want the hub, the activities and the voice control without paying twice as much for a touchscreen. Choose it over the U3 if any of your equipment sits behind cabinet doors, because the hub removes the line-of-sight problem entirely. At around $170 it is the best balance of capability and price in the category.
2. SofaBaton X2: Best Premium
Best features: Color touchscreen, charging dock included, Wi-Fi + Bluetooth + IR + RF, custom activities via app. Around $360.
SofaBaton’s flagship X2 is the closest thing on sale today to a modern Harmony Elite: a proper color touchscreen on the remote itself, a charging dock so it is never dead when the movie starts, and every control protocol in the package. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, IR and RF coverage means it can command everything from a vintage receiver to a smart light, and the touchscreen gives each device or activity its own on-screen panel instead of forcing everything through shared physical buttons.
The price is the argument against it. At around $360 it costs more than twice the X1S, and the extra money buys the screen, the dock and the extra protocols rather than any fundamental new capability: the X1S runs the same app, the same database and the same activities. It has also crept up since our last check, when it sold for around $340.
Choose it over the X1S if the touchscreen and the dock matter to you, or if you want every protocol plus the hub in one package (the hubless U3 also carries RF, but without the dock, touchscreen or voice-assistant activities). If you want one device to run an entire home theater from the couch and the budget is not the constraint, this is the one.
3. SofaBaton U3: Best Without a Hub
Best features: One-touch macros, OLED display with scroll wheel, app-based setup, no hub required. Around $130.
Our previous top pick, the SofaBaton U1, earned its spot by replacing a coffee table full of remotes for under $50, and the U3 is its direct successor. Same formula: an OLED screen and scroll wheel to hop between your devices (SofaBaton rates it for up to 30 remotes), an app that makes adding devices painless, and now one-touch macros for multi-step commands, which close most of the gap to the hub models’ activities. SofaBaton has since discontinued the U1, so the U3 is the one to buy.
No hub means the remote itself does the talking, so IR gear needs line of sight. The U3 does have an on-remote voice button for Google voice commands, but hands-free activity launching through an Alexa or Google smart speaker remains the hub models’ trick; for that, choose the X1S or X2. For a straightforward TV + soundbar + streamer setup in one room, none of that matters.
Choose it over the X1S if your equipment is out in the open and you would rather pocket the $40 difference than own a hub. Choose the X1S instead if you want hands-free Alexa or Google voice activities, or your gear lives in a cabinet.
4. One For All URC7985 Smart Control Pro Touch: Best SofaBaton Alternative
Best features: Touchscreen, app-assisted setup, infrared + Bluetooth control. Around $130.
One For All has made reliable replacement remotes for decades, and the URC7985 Smart Control Pro Touch is its move upmarket: a real touchscreen remote with app-based configuration that speaks both IR and Bluetooth. The device database is deep on TVs and set-top boxes, which makes it a strong choice if your setup leans more broadcast than streaming-box, and it is the only pick here that pairs a touchscreen with a price near $130.
Choose it over the U3 if you specifically want a touchscreen at this price rather than an OLED-and-wheel layout. Choose a SofaBaton instead if you want macros and a livelier app ecosystem; One For All’s strength is coverage of ordinary TV gear, not home-theater choreography.
5. Logitech Harmony Ultimate One (Renewed): For Harmony Loyalists
Best features: 2.4-inch touchscreen, controls 15 devices, customizable favorites. Around $249, renewed.
Buy with eyes open: Logitech discontinued all Harmony remotes in 2021. The company has kept the servers and apps running, so existing and renewed units still work today, but there is no guarantee for how long, batteries in renewed units are aging, and prices for the remaining stock have climbed well past what these sold for new. When we checked this listing on September 1, 2026, it showed only a handful of renewed Ultimate One units left, and renewed stock like this comes and goes week to week.
Choose it only if you already live in the Harmony ecosystem and want a spare handset that drops into your existing setup. Everyone else should buy a SofaBaton: newer hardware, an actively developed app, and no countdown clock on the service behind it.
Buyer’s Guide
Hub or no hub?
Hub-based remotes (SofaBaton X1S and X2) relay commands from anywhere in the room: devices can be hidden in cabinets, and voice assistants can trigger activities. Hubless remotes (U3, URC7985) are cheaper and simpler but need line of sight for IR gear. If your equipment lives behind cabinet doors, get a hub. If it sits on an open shelf, save the money.
Check the protocols
IR covers most TVs and legacy gear; Bluetooth is needed for many streamers, including Apple TV and Fire TV; Wi-Fi and RF cover smart-home extras and gear that IR cannot reach. All four current-production picks speak IR and Bluetooth, the U3 adds RF without needing a hub, and only the X2 carries all four protocols. Inventory your devices before you choose, not after.
Activities beat device-switching
The feature that actually reduces couch friction is not the touchscreen; it is macros and activities, one button that turns on the TV, sets the right input, powers the soundbar and launches the streamer. All four current-production picks support them. Set them up on day one, because a universal remote used as five separate remotes in one shell has missed its own point.
FAQs
What happened to Logitech Harmony?
Logitech exited the universal remote business in April 2021. Existing remotes still work and the Harmony service remains online for now, but no new models are coming and support will not last forever, which is why our current recommendations center on SofaBaton.
Are universal remotes still worth it?
If you regularly juggle three or more remotes, yes. One remote with activities genuinely simplifies a home theater, and guests can actually operate your TV. If you only ever use a TV and one streaming stick, the stick’s own remote is probably enough.
What’s the easiest universal remote to set up?
The SofaBaton models. Their app walks you through adding each device from a searchable database, replacing the old ritual of typing in 4-digit codes. The One For All app plays the same role for the URC7985.
Rebuilding an older setup?
A universal remote is usually one piece of a living-room refresh. If you are bringing older gear back into service, see our guides to the best home CD players and the best iTunes-compatible MP3 players, which cover the same what-still-works-in-2026 territory for audio. And if the refresh extends to the laundry room, the best washing machine hoses guide covers the one cheap part that prevents an expensive flood.