Got an IR watch in high school before universal remotes were a known enough technology. That teacher must have really hated that day. Sorry Mrs Desgagné if you're out there.

Unsure about the S6, but my S5 (which I still have and currently use as a dashcam in a pinch if I'm not in my usual car) definitely has an IR blaster and yeah, it was so good to just flick on the TV in the living room, or notice that my parents TV was still on while they were sleeping and I'd just turn it off from my phone.

S6 Was the last model to have that. Was awesome.

My galaxy s4 had it, the s6 I believe may not have. I do really wish they would put that back

That was my first thought too. I didn't use it every day, but it was so handy to have when it came up.

I wonder if there might not be an add on that might have an IR blaster they connects via USB-C and has an app to run it... If it was good I might consider getting one.

My S4 had this, but my S7 didn't so they removed it somewhere in-between.

I miss that one too :(

But I think they took it out not because of the abuse but because more TVs were being controlled by bluetooth and 2.4GHz bands instead of IR.