Earlier today, LG unveiled the LG V40, its latest flagship smartphone featuring not one or two but five cameras! The device features three cameras at the rear and two at the front and aims to deliver an unrivaled camera experience with tons of features. While all that might be nice, there’s one thing that’s definitely going to disappoint a lot of potential LG V40 owners: the lack of an IR blaster.

While LG has filled the V40 to the brim with all possible tech, it has omitted including an IR blaster on the device. After initially making a comeback in smartphones around 2013-2014, IR blasters have again become extinct. On paper, they might not seem that useful but it is incredibly practical to have in daily use.

Paired with a decent app, you can use the IR blaster to control other electronic appliances like TV, AC, music system etc around you right from your smartphone. LG used to include an IR blaster on its flagship devices back in the day but since the G6 and V30 it has given the blaster a boot and continued the same trend with the LG V40.

So, if an IR blaster is a must for you in your smartphone, you will have to consider skipping the LG V40 since it lacks one. Given how out of favor IR blasters have become among major Android OEMs, it is unlikely we will see them make a return now. Samsung, the largest Android OEM, is also on the same boat as LG as it has also stopped including an IR blaster on its recent flagship devices like the Galaxy S8, Galaxy Note 8, Galaxy S9, and Galaxy Note 9. For now, if a smartphone with an IR blaster is a must for you, Huawei’s Mate series might be your only option. The company already includes an IR blaster on the Mate 10 Pro and its expected to continue the same trend with the Mate 20 Pro launching later this month.