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I'm happy that they ditched the old, confusing 'touch' Siri remote for a traditional four button (up/down/left/right) one. The old Siri remote was pretty frustr
by softwaredoug 6y ago
I'm happy that they ditched the old, confusing 'touch' Siri remote for a traditional four button (up/down/left/right) one. The old Siri remote was pretty frustrating. I know some people love it, but there's so many ways it didn't. work well:
1. You breath on the thing, and it does something. It's extremely sensitive
2. It's really hard to fast fwd/rewind just a little bit. Its good at scrubbing through a whole movie, but try to go back 30 seconds with it, it's nearly impossible. Even worse, if you accidentally touch it, the movie goes fwd/back, and you try to scrub precisely to where you were - pretty frustrating.
3. You're not touching the thing you're interacting with, and unlike a touchpad, you don't see a cursor you're moving. It's supposed to be 'like' you're touching the screen itself.
4. Most people who aren't somewhat tech savvy just will give up (I set my dad up with our roku elsewhere for this reason). They expect physical buttons and to be able to 'click' through channels. It's not even apparent until you use it for a while part of the remote is a touchpad, as it's all black
It's like the remote was built for savvy iPhone users, not people that want to just watch TV.
Apple TV has other usablity problems, but that was a big one for me that would make me question getting another one.
- RandallBrown 6y agoIf you click on the left or right side of the remote it will jump back or forward 10 seconds. Makes going back 30 seconds really easy.
- softwaredoug 6y agoWow, I will have to try this! Thanks for the tip.
- azinman2 6y agoFor some reason, this doesn’t always work, even though I see the 30 sec jog icon appear.
- tshaddox 6y agoIt’s probably your physical button. My button will audibly click when I have my thumb on the far left or right edge, but won’t actually trigger unless I press very firmly after hearing the click. Pressing the button with my thumb in the middle works reliably as expected. Apple support wouldn’t do anything about this except offer to sell me a replacement remote.
- azinman2 6y agoBut I see the timeline controller on the screen react to it with the icon, it just doesn’t actually move in time.
- pkAbstract 6y agoYou just need sub-millimeter precision, on a slippery glass remote made for babies with small hands, and then to time it so you touch the trackpad then click it such that you activate the skip back/skip forward function, but not so long that a cursor appears on the timeline. It's really fun, kind of like if your bank required you to do a little dance every time you wanted to buy something.
- wl 6y agoMore often than not, this pauses playback instead of skipping.
- zuppy 6y agoit’s not working all the time, it’s frustratingly inconsistent.
- rconti 6y agoMaybe half the time it works right, and it seems to depend on app as well. The voice commands were nice "forward 60 seconds" but for some reason it seemed to have a bug where "forward two minutes" almost NEVER worked right on YoutubeTV. You could say almost any other time interval, but not 2 minutes.
- bni 6y agoI use the original TV remote to navigate the AppleTV menus, it works by HDMI-CEC. Its amusing to me that this new appleremote is very similar to a traditional TV remote.
- dave84 6y agoIt basically looks the same as the remote from the old AppleTV 2 with a Siri button.
- tptacek 6y agoI'm always a little surprised when people talk about the Apple TV remote, since I always just use my phone as the remote, and assume that everyone else would too; you always have your phone and often don't have the remote on-hand.
- ashtonbaker 6y agoIt's a better experience for sure, but loading the app takes time, and it often (for me) takes a couple tries to pair with your apple tv. Also, you can't adjust the tv volume.
- tptacek 6y agoI'm not totally sure how it works (the only connection between my ATV and my AV system is HDMI) but adjusting the volume --- on my receiver --- works fine from the Apple TV iPhone remote.
- jolux 6y agoIt uses HDMI ARC but it's pretty flaky from the iPhone in my experience. Works more consistently with the remote itself. No idea why.
- lemoncucumber 6y agoI'm pretty certain that the ATV remote beams good old fashioned infrared signals to change the volume on your TV/soundbar/receiver directly without involving the ATV itself.
- notJim 6y agoI think this is right, because I had to teach my remote how to talk to my tv. Super odd, since every other box I've had has just been able to do this over HDMI.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- mbesto 6y agoI'm a decently savvy iPhone user and the traditional remote is absolute garbage. Wonder if you can just buy the remote independently and use on old hardware?
- sjs382 6y agoYou can. $59. https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MJFM3LL/A/siri-remote https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MJFM3LL/A/siri-remote
- mlindner 6y agoAwesome. Definitely getting it. My current Apple TV 4K is fine, but the remote is garbage.
- kmonsen 6y agoyeah, not really sure why I would update the apple tv 4k
- InvaderFizz 6y agoI'm updating, but that is because my son also uses it as a console with Apple Arcade, so the extra horsepower is appreciated. The old AppleTV 4K will be relegated to the spare TV. Which will please my son greatly as now he doesn't get locked out of using the AppleTV if my wife and I are watching something through Plex on the main TV.
- mikestew 6y agoOr for half that one can avoid rewarding Apple for making a remote that reminds you how much Apple hates you: https://function101.com/pages/button-remote-for-apple-tv-home https://function101.com/pages/button-remote-for-apple-tv-hom... It does lack the Apple TV button, though. Which, meh, long press Menu and hit the Apple TV icon from the home screen. Before today's announcement, that was made up for by the fact that the old Apple remote inexplicably lacked a mute button, which the button remote has. It makes me wonder how stuff like the old remote gets out the door sometimes.
- cicloid 6y agoYou could just use your TV’s remote control if your TV supports HDMI-CEC. Most modern TV’s do send their key pushes via HDMI back to the device. Also there is the option of using a simpler Ir remote control to control the Apple TV. You can record the commands for a simpler operation.
- sjs382 6y agoHonestly, the old remote as-is is one of my least favorite remotes ever because of 1) the issues with accidental touches and 2) when you pick it up, you never know which way it should be pointed without looking. But add a little silicon sleeve that solves both issues, and it quickly became my favorite.
- r00fus 6y agoWhat sleeve did you buy?
- sjs382 6y agohttps://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M4SDGPO https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M4SDGPO The little cord at the bottom quickly allows me to tell which end is "up". And the silicone at the edges of the touchpad prevent almost all accidental touches. This seems like the same thing: https://smile.amazon.com/FineGood-Protective-Generation-Skidproof-Protection/dp/B07DNSQQ4P https://smile.amazon.com/FineGood-Protective-Generation-Skid...
- mastercheif 6y agoThe original touch AppleTV remote was probably ill-considered, but the accelerant of its demise was Apple ceasing to care if third-parties used native UIKit controls on AppleTV in a chase to get all of the channels and services to port their SmartTV applications over. For example, the original YouTube app on the AppleTV 4th generation was great. Navigating was a breeze with the native scroll momentum and sensitivity, now playing gestures worked as expected, et all. After a year or so the app started falling behind in features to the LG/Samsung/SmartTV/Console apps, which presumingly use a shared web/javascript base. They (I assume) decided maintaining a separate codebase for AppleTV was a waste and went to work on porting the SmartTV app to the AppleTV. Now navigating the app using the AppleTV touch remote is complete mayhem, frustrating and unpredictable in every sense. Gestures that work on other platforms such as long press to add to playlist are absent, and the video player doesn't use the native gestures such as drag down for audio options or skip ahead/behind with tap on edge. The new remote is Apple giving up and saying that HDMI-CEC and 4-way DPad controls have won.
- astrange 6y agoThe new remote is still touch based. There's just also a D-pad.
- ninkendo 6y agoThe old remote also has a d-pad but it’s implemented through edge detection on the touch surface (you have to tap/click on the very edges of the surface)... the new remote just makes that easier to accomplish (and adds a mute button, thank god.)
- addaon 6y agoIs this also why the Youtube AppleTV app went from twelve thumbnails on a screen to three full ones, some cut-off ones, and a whole bunch of gray space? I'd say my YouTube usage is down 90% with that change, and will be cancelling Premium this billing cycle as a result. What were they thinking!?
- tbyehl 6y ago> Most people who aren't somewhat tech savvy just will give up Ugh. I hated the thing 'cause it was non-intuitive to learn initially and required a level of precision in operation that's just ridiculous relative to its primary function. When my aging mother (RIP) moved in with me, she could not use it at all due to declining fine motor control. Now every TV I own has a Roku built-in and I can't imagine ever going back. All I want my TVs to do is launch Plex and Sling and let the kids hook up whichever gaming console is trendy. They get the job done with remotes that are simple, intuitive, cheap to replace, and I don't have to tutor anyone in how to use the damned things.
- sethhochberg 6y agoThe Roku remotes really are fantastic - especially the built-in headphone jack. My only complaint is that they really eat batteries, especially when using that headphone jack, but at least they're still sticking with standard AAs that I can just keep in a charger nearby instead of having to dock the thing or plug it in.
- yakk0 6y agoI dropped my remote the first night I had my Apple TV 4K and shattered the glass on it. Good riddance.
- rexf 6y agoI agree. Glass was a horrible design choice for a remote. I'm glad they are moving to aluminum. In my house, we have two 4K TV remotes with broken glass. Not safe, and the worse part is the replacement cost of the remote is typical Apple pricing ($$$). Apple managed to create a remote where getting a case was reasonable.
- MaxLeiter 6y agoIf you have an iPhone I absolutely love the Apple TV remote app. Feels like the remote design was made for the phone. I wish other apps or console also let you use your phone to type or control
- dougbarrett 6y agoI agree wholeheartedly, the only downside I would see is that volume cannot be controlled through the iPhone app if you're controlling the volume through the TV. When I have a bluetooth speaker paired to apple TV, i'm able to control that volume using the rocker switches on my phone, it's the weirdest thing. It feels like magic to have my TV turn on by a touch of my phone, and to also be able to control the TV when the kids think they are sneaky by not giving me back the remote.
- valine 6y agoI built a raspberry pi IR blaster to solve this very problem. I have shortcuts on the home screen that talk to the pi when I want to control the TV volume from my iPhone.
- InvaderFizz 6y agoMy sound bar uses ARC connected to my TV. This means the physical Apple TV remote can turn the volume up and down. Same applies when using the Remote app. The volume rocker on my phone controls the sound bar volume. Annoyingly, this does not apply to screen mirroring to the AppleTV.
- wilsynet 6y agoThe Apple TV touch remote is frustrating even if you are tech savvy. It is just bad, period.
- BoorishBears 6y agoProne to dust getting into the gap between the touchpad and the case so edge presses become even more inconsistent And the ridiculous use of glass where no one would ever have complained about aluminum or plastic (which I've seen shatter on multiple remotes now) Good riddance
- coryking 6y ago> Prone to dust getting into the gap between the touchpad and the case so edge presses become even more inconsistent Yup. All the time. Especially if you use those sleeves people talk about. And you have to use those sleeves because otherwise you don't know if you picked it up in the right direction. Seriously. That remote is the worst pile of trash. I hate it every time I use it. Good riddance.
- hh2222 6y ago> try to go back 30 seconds with it, it's nearly impossible. Tip: press the mike button and say "go back 30 seconds" ... or "open netflix" etc.
- foliveira 6y agoUnfortunately the Siri function isn’t available in numerous countries
- kdamken 6y agoFor scrubbing though if you put your finger on the left or right side of the touchpad you will see a little arrow circle on the progress bar. You can then push the pad to scrub.
- louthy 6y agoHonestly, I love the remote, it’s so much better than every other remote I’ve used. I will admit that 2 is small issue (you can just say “go back 30 seconds” into the mic), but not enough for me to write the thing off. For most things I’d prefer to navigate with swipes than repeated click click click of buttons, like other remotes.
- rconti 6y agoIt's utterly and inconsistent in use between apps. SOMETIMES clicking on the far right or far left side of the touchpad SOMETIMES jumps forward 15 seconds and sometimes pauses. And it's different between apps AND different each time you try it.
- tinus_hn 6y agoThey aren’t ditching it, they took a large step in fixing these issues. It’s still a trackpad but with buttons on it.
- ixfo 6y agoThe big problem I had with the remote was elderly users. Picking up an object should not have side-effects.
- coryking 6y agoThat touch remote truly is the worst thing apple has made in a while (the round hockey puck mouse being the absolute worst). In addition to all your points... it just isn't that durable. All our normal TV remotes made it through our daughters "stick everything in her mouth" phase completely unscathed. Both our "touch" remotes now constantly act weird and flakey. I refuse to spend money to replace them because they are so awful. I'm very glad to see that these remotes are going away. Like you, that pile of shit remote is a deal breaker for any future AppleTV purchase.
- interpol_p 6y agoI know I'm probably in the minority, but as someone with little kids the Siri remote was just great Instead of them running up and touching the TV screen to tell me which episode they wanted to watch, I could fling over to the big thumbnail and wiggle it around with my finger on the trackpad. They could easily see what was "focused" and what I was referring to on the screen As the kids grew older they got used to just asking Siri through the remote to search for shows they wanted to watch, something they couldn't do when they were too young to type and spell It is initially harder to use than the discrete button remote, and I agree that it's tough to scrub very fine intervals. Though you can use Siri button to "go back 25 seconds" or "what did she say?" — which goes back ~15 seconds and also turns on subtitles temporarily This new remote looks like a good combination of trackpad + clicky buttons though