At one point of time, Samsung was known to include IR blasters on its flagship Galaxy S devices. While an IR blaster might seem like a small feature to have, it comes in incredibly handy for daily use since it allows one to control all electronic appliances around them right from an app on your smartphone. 

However, the last time Samsung included an IR blaster on its device was with the Galaxy S6 in 2015. Since then, the company strangely decided to ditch the handy sensor from its flagship devices for no reason at all. If you were hoping that Samsung would change the trend with the Galaxy Note 8 this year, you are going to be disappointed.

Like the Galaxy Note 7, Galaxy S8, and the Galaxy Note 5, the Galaxy Note 8 does not feature an IR blaster. So, if you are upgrading from the Galaxy Note 4 and are used to the IR blaster on the device, you might want to reconsider your decision.

Ironically, while Samsung continues to ignore the IR blaster for its flagship devices, OEMs like Xiaomi and Huawei have started including it in their handsets due to their sheer popularity in certain Asian markets like India.

Considering just how costly the Galaxy Note 8 is, Samsung could have ideally included an IR blaster on the device as it would not have translated into much of an increase in the total BOM of the device. But in all its wiseness, Samsung decided otherwise. Other OEMs have also ditched the IR blaster from their devices so they are clearly going out of fashion here and there’s not much that you can do about it.