“The Apple TV 4K is a fantastic little set-top box that has an easy-to-use interface, an App Store, and options to watch all kinds of content, but there’s one major flaw with the device – the Siri Remote,” Juli Clover writes for MacRumors:
Swiss company Salt created an alternative Apple TV Remote, which we managed to get our hands on.
Salt is a Swiss telecommunications company that offers the Apple TV 4K in a broadband TV bundle for its customers. There’s no way to order this remote in the United States or countries other than Switzerland – it’s designed only for Salt customers.
According to Salt, the Salt Remote was designed in close collaboration with Apple after the Salt TV customer base complained about the poor usability of the default remote that comes with the Apple TV.
MacDailyNews Take: Hopefully, as this was created in close collaboration with Apple, the designers of Apple’s Siri Remote (unpaid high school summer interns?) have learned some very valuable lessons that they will apply to the next-gen Siri Remote for Apple TV!
Looks almost exactly like a Roku remote.
Available for sale only at Salt stores in Switzerland, apparently.
The iPhone and Apple Watch make for a much improved experience over the Siri Remote.
Would be nice to have a Mac app for a remote too.
Anyone can configure just about any standard IR remote to use with their Apple TV.
Go to Settings > Remotes and Devices > Lear Remote
Yeah, but the problem with that is IR. I can (and do) use an old Apple remote – the kind that used to ship with all Macs an older ATVs – because it’s far better than the Siri remote for a lot (but not all) things. Only… I have to point it at the ATV which my wife has artfully pushed behind more artful things. If this new Roku-looking remote uses Bluetooth like the Siri remote, I want one.
It isn’t even that hard. The RCA universal remote comes with a number code you can type in to set it up for Apple TV. There must be a lot of people buying universal remotes for use with the Apple TV to justify RCA going to the trouble of including the code.
No Siri. Deal killer
I watch TV and movies in any one of four languages. If the title of the movie is in a different language than the one that the Apple TV is set up for, Siri can’t find it. For me, Siri is just an automated pain in the neck.
This is probably why Siri isn’t on the Apple TV in Switzerland, where they speak Italian, French, Standard German, Swiss German, and two versions of Rhaeto Romansch, and nearly everyone is at least bilingual. You have to master four languages to graduate from high school. No way Siri could keep up with that.
I’d settle for a Mute button. I’m always having to fumble around for my universal remote when I just need to quickly mute.
I just use the Apple remote app on my iPhone, since the Siri remote is usually lost underneath the pile of stuff on the coffee table.
It looks a lot like the standard remote that come with Android TV boxes. I have never used an Apple remote so I wouldn’t know how good or bad it is. I do like Roku remotes and Fire TV remotes as they’re very simple and not much has ever gone wrong with the remotes I’ve owned.
I hate the Apple remote too. I see the Salt remote on eBay. I got one and love it. Check out eBay and get one if you can.