For whatever it is worth, my skepticism of devices that require a separate app or remote API integration has steadily then dramatically increased over the last

For whatever it is worth, my skepticism of devices that require a separate app or remote API integration has steadily then dramatically increased over the last few years. I cannot rely on 1) small, perhaps-VC-funded operations continuing to exist more than a few years and 2) even for large players in the IOT space (Apple, Google), I worry about long term support. At what point will I be faced with the prospect of buying a new car to ensure that I can continue using CarPlay? (At that point I'll just buy a phone mount.) To that end, I recently picked up a Flirc remote to control my byzantine gaming and home theater setup [1]. It doesn't support all the features I need (yet), I'm concerned that the company will not be able to delivery on their roadmap, BUT they release their remote configuration tool as a stand-alone app that I know I can keep running, perhaps in a VM if needed, for the lifetime of the remote. All of the other smart remote alternatives require smartphone apps to program and maintain, and I have zero faith that they won't disappear and turn the remote into ewaste long before the remote hardware fails (or I stop having a need for it). 1: https://flirc.tv/products/skip1s-remote-universal-remote-control https://flirc.tv/products/skip1s-remote-universal-remote-con...