Oddly named appliance maker SevenHugs presents a clever looking universal remote at CES 2016-- the Smart Remote geolocates individual devices, allowing customers to control whatever they want by simply pointing the remote at it.
To figure out what devices are in the home the SmartRemote uses wifi and 3 connected sockets. The remote triangulates its position between the sockets to around 10m range, and users can "train" it to associate a particular spot with a specific device.
The Smart Remote seen at CES 2016 uses wifi and Bluetooth connectivity to control Philips Hue lights, Sonos speakers and the Nest Learning Thermostat. However an open SDK promises a technically infinite list of compatible devices and services, as well as a personalised user experience.