Compared to the gen2/3 remote the gen4 is amazing. So I decided I’m happy with it
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.
Apple unveiled its Siri (or Apple TV) Remote with touch surface in 2015 alongside the fourth-generation Apple TV, and it's never been a particularly popular accessory. With that in mind, Swiss company Salt created an alternative Apple TV Remote, which we managed to get our hands on.
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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.
Available for just under 20 Swiss francs, the Salt Remote looks more like a traditional remote than Apple's version, and it's made from a simple black plastic with buttons for controlling multiple functions.
It is designed to connect to the Apple TV out of the box and requires no pairing to set up. It's both wider and longer than the Siri Remote, so it's harder to lose, which is probably a good thing for most people given how easy it is to misplace the Siri Remote.
Unlike the Siri Remote, the Salt Remote has no touch interface on the front, offering buttons as an alternative. On the Siri Remote, the touch surface replaces directional arrows and there are limited physical buttons available.
Salt's remote features directional arrows for navigation purposes, volume controls, multiple media controls with play/pause, rewind, and fast forward, a mute button, a menu button, and a power button. All of the buttons are responsive and easy to use.
There is no microphone button for activating Siri because Siri is not an available Apple TV function on the Apple TV set-top boxes in Switzerland. Anyone who uses the current Apple TV remote with Siri for searching for content will definitely notice the lack of a Siri button.
There's also no Home button available on the Salt remote. On Apple's version, the Home button lets you get to the Home screen quickly and access the app switcher to close out apps or swap between apps. Holding down the menu button on the Salt Remote brings you to the Home screen of the Apple TV, but there's no way to replicate the other missing Home button functionality.
Given that this is an inexpensive remote option, it is powered with two triple A batteries that need to be replaced every six months on average, but that's a minor inconvenience.
All in all, the Salt Remote is clean, simple to use, and has no fiddly touch interface to deal with. Unfortunately, given that this is developed by a Swiss company, it is unlikely to come to the United States or other countries.
Apple may have allowed an alternative remote for one telecom, but it's doubtful that Apple would allow the Siri Remote to be replaced in all countries. It's possible that we could, however, see a new Siri Remote design at some point when Apple releases an updated Apple TV.
What do you think of the Salt Remote? Let us know in the comments.
Article Link: Hands-On With Salt's Apple TV Remote Replacement
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Hands-On With Salt's Apple TV Remote Replacement
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The confidence in the sample’s accurate representation of the overall population userbase is zero. As I said in my post, but which you edited out for some reason (btw please feel free to leave my post intact; deleting relevant portions is considered bad form in public discussion forums):
“There are plenty of users who like or are indifferent to the aluminum and Siri remote, but whether that’s 5% or 95% is impossible to know, based on anything here in the forums 🤷♂️”
Other telecommunications companies did not see any reason to look for an alternative remote. Does that also speak loudly?
It’s not statistically valid to ignore data that disproves your point, while selectively relying on data that confirms it.
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Apple has lost their way when it comes to common sense. Thinner and smaller are not always better. Touch surfaces are not superior in every situation (very small devices). Give me traditional controls and a remote that fits nicely in my hand. And Siri STILL sucks. So yea, this looks like a winner!!!
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Missing a few features for me to fully replace the Apple remote.: uses IR instead of bluetooth, no Home button or app switcher, no Siri.
Everything else I like about it, including using AAA batteries.
Everything else I like about it, including using AAA batteries.
The most recent 15” MacBook Pro gives me hope that people in the company are actually listening. The Ive era is over, so we may indeed see Apple returning to a more pragmatic viewpoint going forward.
They're always going to be a design-forward company; but I like good design. I just don’t like it when that trumps everything else.
The Siri remote isn’t that bad if you put it in a rubber case.
It ain’t pretty, but it addresses many of the issues and is better in not-black as you can quickly eyeball which way round it is before picking it up. Ridiculous to have a remote in a case, but it turned the Siri remote from something I detested to something that is passable.
TiMOVO Protective Case for Apple TV 4K/4th Gen Remote, Anti Slip & Shock Proof Skin, Lightweight Soft Silicone Cover for Apple TV 4K Siri Remote Controller - Orange
TiMOVO Protective Case for Apple TV 4K/4th Gen Remote, Anti Slip & Shock Proof Skin, Lightweight Soft Silicone Cover for Apple TV 4K Siri Remote Controller - Orange
www.amazon.co.uk
It ain’t pretty, but it addresses many of the issues and is better in not-black as you can quickly eyeball which way round it is before picking it up. Ridiculous to have a remote in a case, but it turned the Siri remote from something I detested to something that is passable.
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I assume you mean the 16” MBP that Ive design last year or the year before.
Ive’s been thickening products for years, if the engineering needs require it; the iPhone itself has gotten thicker every year since the iPhone 6 came out in 2014. Five model years, each thicker than the last, while some continually complained of a thinness fetish 🤷♂️
I’m all for some good old fashioned Ive bashing, but for all we know the remote’s shortcomings are because Ive was busy with the spaceship campus and someone else called the shots, who knows?
In any case, we’ll be seeing Ive’s designs for the next couple years as various products work there way through the pipeline. If his new design studio works with Apple as has been reported, there could be another two or three decades of Ive designs, it can’t be known yet.
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...but but but isn’t design reactionary, ill thought out and 6 months from planning to fruition? That’s what the internet man told me....
Yes, Internet man strikes again! He knows everything, just ask him; he’ll tell you 😂
Ha! I'm headed to Switzerland in 2 weeks. Will be picking up at least one.
UPDATE: Now that I see the remote utilizes regular batteries (not lithium) how many should I bring back to the US? Who wants one?
UPDATE: Now that I see the remote utilizes regular batteries (not lithium) how many should I bring back to the US? Who wants one?
I’m a big fan of my Samsung TV Smart Remote which is the only remote I have in my house. It controls all my TV functions as well as the Apple TV, which is connected to it. I gather that newer Samsung TVs have a ‘virtual’ Apple TV built in, which makes a lot of sense.
I‘m not the biggest fan of Samsung picture quality, but the remote is terrific. Its most redeeming feature is that it’s very tactile and can be used effectively without even looking at it. A couple of the buttons can be nudged up or down or depress-clicked. Really good design.
I‘m not the biggest fan of Samsung picture quality, but the remote is terrific. Its most redeeming feature is that it’s very tactile and can be used effectively without even looking at it. A couple of the buttons can be nudged up or down or depress-clicked. Really good design.
I do think the Apple remote is the biggest pice of Apple rubbish I own. Genearly like Apple but the remote is ****. Second only to the mouse.
1) this remote is a great idea - the ATV remote is too slim ash the touch thing is far from elegant nor efficient.
2) this ATV is not a "a fantastic little set-top box that has an easy-to-use interface, an App Store, and options to watch all kinds of content" - its ok. but the netflix app is utter toilet. constantly jerky motion and slow to respond resulting in a box reboot. that is very poor.
2) this ATV is not a "a fantastic little set-top box that has an easy-to-use interface, an App Store, and options to watch all kinds of content" - its ok. but the netflix app is utter toilet. constantly jerky motion and slow to respond resulting in a box reboot. that is very poor.
i think one of the reasons some have trouble with the touch pad on the Siri remote is the rather significant input lag some TVs have, especially if not in Game mode. This makes the touch pad quite uncomfortable to use and in those cases I can understand that a directional pad works better. On my Panasonic TV from 2010 the Siri remote works fine in my opinion.
One oversite that should be standard on every remote - an input button (are you listening Harmony?). Typically, Apple TV is attached to one of the HDMI ports with other components attached to other ports with other ports unused. Invariably, that is where the problem is with the Smart remote...getting to the device you want to, while programed correctly, it stops on the wrong input. Appears is a "count over sequence" rather than direct coding of specific inputs and loses track in the count with unused ports - such as 'component'. the choice is dig into the menu structure of the Smart remote or much easier, retrieve the original remote and use the input button to correct.
Use the "Now Playing" app instead of Remote and you can control volume, among other things. I've given up on the Remote app at this point and use now playing exclusively.
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How many telecommunications companies do you know of that use Apple TV's as STB's?
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Pretty much everyone who has stayed over has just not watched TV because they don't know how to use the remote, and they end up handing it to me because they can't figure it out. I don't even really blame them - the process for turning the TV off alone is unintuitive as all hell.
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No touch no buy. Without touch, there is no reason to use Apple TV as other streaming devices are better and cheaper. I use Apple TV as it has only touch remote.
This is great news, but sucks there's no US version. Apple makes the WORST input devices.
Ohhhh. People use the siri remote wrong. You need to use a certified HDMI cable to use the siri touch remote in 4K.
If the HDMI cable is crappy or cheap without proper shield or ground, it causes the lagging or jumping of the siri touch motion.
Many hdmi cables don’t have ground pins connected or lack of shield. It emits bluetooth interference EMI and causes the lag. Buy a certified HDMI cable. It’s simple.
Sitting next to my ATV is a Roku. We hate the ATV remote that much.