MobileSyrup’s Patrick O’Rourke sat down with Tim Twerdahl, Apple’s vice president of product marketing for home and audio, to discuss the new Apple TV 4K, its new second generation Siri Remote, why there’s no AirTag built into the Remote, and more.
Patrick O’Rourke for MobileSyrup:
Tim Twerdahl:
We recognize that because a lot of people were moving to the Apple TV as the one box they have, having one remote that did it all in terms of powering up and down your system, would be important, so we wanted to add that as well. We knew that there was a group of customers who really had grown up on or historically used five-way controls — up down left right select — and just felt comfort with that. We knew that there was a lot of power in the swiping, but we thought that maybe something that delivered on the best of both worlds was a great way to enhance the experience of customers…
We are super excited about AirTags and what we’re doing with U1, and part of that power is the Find My network and the fact that we can leverage a billion devices around the world to help you find stuff. To your point, that is the most powerful out of the home. With the changes we’ve made to the Siri Remote — including making it a bit thicker so it won’t fall in your couch cushions as much — that need to have all these other network devices find it seems a little bit lower.
MacDailyNews Take: The Siri Remote 2 cases that accommodate an AirTag will hit Amazon soon enough.
And the rest of America says, “WHERE’S THE REMOTE?” two times a week.
https://www.wikihow.com/Find-a-Lost-Television-Remote
At least there is this.
Built-in AirTag would be overkill. A little loudspeaker to make a sound would be enough
This is how Roku works. Push a button on the TB box and the remote emits a sound.
Very simple, very effective.
That’s funny! I read a meme the other day that said if you don’t think people are getting stupider, car owner manuals used to tell you how to adjust the valves. Now they tell you not to drink the battery acid.
On Amazon, if you search “Find Lost Apple TV Remote Case”, there is an earlier version in which the Siri Remote 1 has a slot for a Tile tracker. As the webmaster suggested, we will soon have a case which will hold an Airtag . . . which will lead to the inevitable: “Honey, I’m tracking the location of the Siri Remote on my iPhone via its Airtag, and I’ve discovered– It’s somewhere in the Living Room!”
Making the remote thicker doesn’t solve this problem. Sure, it’s thicker than the previous Apple remotes, but it’s still way thinner than regular remotes, which people lose all the time.
This seems like a bizarre product decision: it’s an easily-lost product that already has a battery that could be used to power the AirTag. And it was announced at literally the same exact time as AirTags.
Sound like BS excuse to me. What’s the real reason?
It’s just Apple arrogance again, they always know best until they have to re-engineer something because it was a terrible design. Then they’ll spin it to sound like they’re thoughtfully responding to user needs. The more cynical answer is that Apple knows 3rd parties will make AirTag kludge cases for remotes, why give the consumer something built in when it can be sold as an add-on?
Who is stupid enough to downvote that question? Out yourselves!
Sorry Apple, this is a lame excuse… It doesn’t need full AirTag tracking capability, just something to trigger an audible alert which would be just fine. (like you can from your apple watch to find your phone, or ‘Play Sound’ in FindMy…). It pains me s to admit my Verizon set-top box implemented a better solution where I can press a button to make the remote beep.
I think Americans need to take better care of the remote rather than just dropping it on the sofa when they’ve finished with it. Stick it on the coffee table, in your trouser (pants) pocket or rest it on your fat stomachs. Just look after it.
If we took better care of all our possessions, we wouldn’t need Air Tags in the first place. But since we’re only human, “just looking after it,” isn’t always the best solution!