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New Siri Remote has a big disadvantage for YouTubeTV

DribbleCastle

DribbleCastle

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 17, 2009
442
336
Seattle, WA
Not a big fan of the remote out of the gate. Just feels odd in the hand and buttons almost seem too clicky. Likely things I"ll get used to in time. The biggest problem and thing that might prevent me from using this new remote though is with the YouTube app.

YoutubeTV app allows you to fast forward 15 secs without HUD display/UI coming up with the old Siri remote, but the new remote brings it up the HUD display/UI which is super annoying. Basically adds two clicks to every time I want to fast forward 15 seconds instead of 1 click. Terrible for jumping through a recorded football game. This remote interaction is very similar to when you add/program in a non-Siri remote.
I’ve verified app versions are the same. It huge deal-breaker for me which is sad. And I doubt Youtube gives two 💩
 
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Just no pleasing everyone. Countless people complained about the Siri remote, and I'm sure there will be some adjustments with the new one as well. But it seems like it's more of a software fix here. Everyone has different use cases and for me this remote is leaps and bounds better. Sorry that this is not the case for you.
 
Yeah, new always bring some kind of change that can be viewed as negative. I'm typically not on that side of things.

Now I'm curious to see if the old Siri remote can be paired with the new AppleTV 4K 2021. I'll report back if that is possible but doubt many people will have that need.
 
perezr10 said:
I wish I could pair 2 remotes and then just use the old one for YouTube.
Click to expand...
Yep, exactly. I would be content with that situation as a workaround. Maybe next version of tvOS at WWDC will support that since people who are buying the new Siri remote might have the old one laying around now? We can only hope.
 
DribbleCastle said:
Not a big fan of the remote out of the gate. Just feels odd in the hand and buttons almost seem too clicky. Likely things I"ll get used to in time. The biggest problem and thing that might prevent me from using this new remote though is with the YouTube app.

YoutubeTV app allows you to fast forward 15 secs without HUD display/UI coming up with the old Siri remote, but the new remote brings it up the HUD display/UI which is super annoying. Basically adds two clicks to every time I want to fast forward 15 seconds instead of 1 click. Terrible for jumping through a recorded football game. This remote interaction is very similar to when you add/program in a non-Siri remote.
I’ve verified app versions are the same. It huge deal-breaker for me which is sad. And I doubt Youtube gives two 💩
Click to expand...
Yes, too clicky! It feels awkward in the hand. And the buttons have a very...butterfly switch-like feel. I don't dig it.
 
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Apple_Robert said:
For me, the new remote feels good in hand and I like it better than the old stock remote.
Click to expand...
I had a case that fixed many of the problems with the 1st gen Siri remote. I'm sure I'll get used to this new one after a week or so. Not impressed with the wheel scrubbing feature thus far, but maybe that needs some software support by individual apps. I find myself fast-forwarding and then rewinding as I continue to jog around the circle.
 
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DribbleCastle said:
I had a case that fixed many of the problems with the 1st gen Siri remote. I'm sure I'll get used to this new one after a week or so. Not impressed with the wheel scrubbing feature thus far, but maybe that needs some software support by individual apps. I find myself fast-forwarding and then rewinding as I continue to jog around the circle.
Click to expand...
I have a case on my stock remote. I don't plan on doing that with the new remote. The wheel is going to take some getting used to. I struggled some with it earlier.
 
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DribbleCastle said:
Now I'm curious to see if the old Siri remote can be paired with the new AppleTV 4K 2021. I'll report back if that is possible but doubt many people will have that need.
Click to expand...
FYI, for those who are interested in this idea, yes the 1st gen siri remote can be used on the new hardware (2021) without any issue. With the 1st gen Siri remote connected YouTubeTV returns to its normal fast forwarding method. So 100% related to the new remote and how the left/right buttons work.
 
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I would be VERY interested in more feedback from users of the new remote with YouTubeTV. That constitutes over 50% of my Apple TV usage. I am excited about the "clickiness" and size of the new remote, but if it has issues with YouTube TV, then I may need to reconsider my desire to buy one.
 
DribbleCastle said:
I had a case that fixed many of the problems with the 1st gen Siri remote. I'm sure I'll get used to this new one after a week or so. Not impressed with the wheel scrubbing feature thus far, but maybe that needs some software support by individual apps. I find myself fast-forwarding and then rewinding as I continue to jog around the circle.
Click to expand...
You need to get it into jogging wheel mode. Pause the video, touch the jog wheel anywhere for a few seconds, wait for the jog wheel UI to appear and then use wheel.
 
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brilliantthings said:
You need to get it into jogging wheel mode. Pause the video, touch the jog wheel anywhere for a few seconds, wait for the jog wheel UI to appear and then use wheel.
Click to expand...
Ah yes, didn’t realize that is how you get into it, but after playing with it a bit i don’t really find it more effective than simply swiping like you would on the old remote. And shocker, not supported by YouTube apps. Anyway, thanks for the tip.
 
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I also am a YTTV user (primary usage on ATV's actually) and I'm really underwhelmed on the remote so far.

Per the post above, I doubt YTTV will ever properly support jog wheel mode.

Right now I'm on the fence on even keeping the new remote given the $60 price.

The mute button I like, but I don't like where they put it (where Play/Pause was before) and I've accidentally activated Siri a couple times tonight already with the button on the side and it being a bit touchy it seems.
 
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turbineseaplane said:
I also am a YTTV user (primary usage on ATV's actually) and I'm really underwhelmed on the remote so far.

Per the post above, I doubt YTTV will ever properly support jog wheel mode.

Right now I'm on the fence on even keeping the new remote given the $60 price.

The mute button I like, but I don't like where they put it (where Play/Pause was before) and I've accidentally activated Siri a couple times tonight already with the button on the side and it being a bit touch it seems.
Click to expand...
Pretty much inline with me. One thing that makes me think Google/Youtube will never change this behavior is earlier this year I got a Google TV with Chromecast device and that was exactly the same interaction it with fast forwarding. It’s pretty obvious they just port their TV apps with very little customization to the platform.
 
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I've boxed mine up.

Too much about this new remote is just a neutral/negative/side grade with new tradeoffs I don't like.

I wish Apple would just let us map a key combo to create "mute" with the first gen Siri remote. I'd always wished I could select "hold down volume to toggle mute" for instance.

Most everything that changed about the new remote I don't really love. The buttons feel cheap to me, I don't like where the Siri button is now and the play/pause moving is awful. I think I would need a silicone case again also, as I don't love the feel of the edges. Why the hell do they have to do this? It's meant to be in the hand...make those edges softer damnit! This company is so frickin' frustrating - :mad:

This was already a massive splurge to spend $60 x 6 (lots of Apple TV's here) just for new remotes and I just can't justify it with this level of "lukewarm feeling" about the new remotes.
 
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YouTube was the first app I tried with the new remote and I was immediately disappointed with the way the 10 second skip/rewind behaved. Now instead of one click to skip/rewind 10 seconds, it takes 3 clicks.

Old Siri Remote
1. Click right/left to skip/rewind 10 seconds.

New Siri Remote
1. Click right/left to bring up the progress bar.
2. Click the right/left button again to skip/rewind 10 seconds (this step also pauses the video).
3. Click the play button to resume video.

Why did they have to change it? I guess I will be returning the remote.
 
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Omicron Theta said:
Why did they have to change it? I guess I will be returning the remote.
Click to expand...

In defense of Apple, I think it's likely an issue on Google's end here and thus requiring a software tweak/update.

However - waiting on google to fix something like this could be anything from "a few days" to "never"

In the meantime, I think I'm going to stick with my returns today and maybe reevaluate if that issue gets fixed and/or I find good deals down the road.

Ultimately, $60 is just way too much for a remote that changes so little and that has some changes I flat out don't love.
 
turbineseaplane said:
My problem there is that about 90% of my ATV usage is YouTube and YouTubeTV --- and I fully expect the scrub wheel to never be supported by Google
Click to expand...
It's working for me on YouTube. It's a little different (don't press anything first) and overly sensitive, but a super-gentle scroll seems to do the trick.
 
srbNYC said:
It's working for me on YouTube. It's a little different (don't press anything first) and overly sensitive, but a super-gentle scroll seems to do the trick.
Click to expand...

That is just the normal trackpad scrubbing

(as opposed to the new jog wheel scroll where the icon pops up)
 
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I also have YouTube TV on ATV as my only "TV" provider. I think the YTTV experience is better on iPad (thanks for gestures) than on Apple TV. I didn't realize you could just swipe left and right on the round pad until now. The new control's wheel seems unusable in YouTube TV, though I just got it yesterday.

However, the bottom line is I don't think Google cares at all about a good experience in YouTube TV app on Apple TV.
 
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