Yeah, I immediately came to post that I think I know where they "hid" it...somewhere in that 3" of extra thickness this "cover" adds.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Nomad Launches Apple TV Remote Cover With Hidden AirTag Pocket
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Spoken like someone with no kids.
Right? I tell my son to always put it back and of course it's never where it should be. I'd be happy if it was visible in the vicinity but instead it could be in any room of the house under stuff. One time it wound up in the car!
I found a first gen Siri Apple TV remote at the laundromat. Apparently it fell out of someone’s basket and didn’t go thru the wash, still works.
Just buy this. Elago put this up for sale right after the new remote came out and I’ve been using it ever since. It’s not as chonky as this remote either, with it only being thicker in the middle to accommodate the AirTag. It’s rounded, feels nice in the hand, holds the AirTag and only cost $15: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B097WZQV1Z
I have one of those, in a cabinet somewhere. Wasn't impressed. It substantially increases the size and weight of the remote. I really wish Apple had built "Find My" into the most recent remote. Or, heck, just a high-pitched buzzer the Apple TV can activate - it's not like I'm going to lose the remote outside somewhere. Doesn't have to be general purpose, just something where the HomePod or iPhone can connect via bluetooth and tell the remote to sound its buzzer.
Luckily, it's a remote control, so it stays within 6 feet of the same location... "finding" it takes about 500 milliseconds.
Repeat along with the rest of the class: "not everyone has the same use cases for their devices."
I think all the remote really needed was a little speaker. It already has Bluetooth so with a speaker you could have just made it beep so you could find it.
To be fair, pretty much every device from Apple has Bluetooth in it. So, yeah, it needs a speaker, and some software support.
Are the remotes magnetic? Could you have a magnet stuck on its base to fix it to a coffee table leg ?
Never lost the remote but I'm a sucker for anything I can print with only the slightest intent of actually using it.
Printing it now, I expect to try it, decide I don't like it and bin it (or if someone wants it, I'll send it to them).
About 15 years ago I had a cable TV remote that had a speaker built into it. On the cable box, there was a lost remote button. When you pressed it, a loud locator sound came from the remote. 15 years ago. I have never seen another remote have this feature, at least that I've come across. Why don't modern remotes have this? Yeah, they want to sell you new remotes.
Not likely to lose the ATV remote, but I kind of like that it becomes a bit larger. Not for $40 though)
Apple ought to have a button on the Apple TV to find the remote and a beep/speaker to find it in remote.
this is just pathetic
this is just pathetic
It would be more impressive if you lose the remote every-other-time you watch the TV.
Find My support is there for the AirPods 3 but no UWB for precision tracking.
Fabulous data point right up until close to the end. People are so quick to assume malice. Nobody said, "we could build in a speaker - no, wait! let's purposefully leave that out in order to sell replacement remotes! <evil laughter>". No company is raking in huge profits off of replacement remotes.
They have to include a remote with the product, they're putting in the features it needs to work, a speaker would cost extra (and for most remotes, adding in two-way communication - since most remotes are still just IR flashlights - would cost a lot extra in circuitry on both ends as well as development time and getting the radios certified and such), and they don't perceive the additional sales benefit (buying our TV/box instead of the competition's) of the one sentence in the advertising saying "includes a beeper to find lost remotes" to substantially outweigh the total cost of including the beeper, so they don't to it.
Or, nobody in the design or marketing departments suggested it. Think about it - what makes Apple famous, why do so many people seek out their products? Why does Apple get so much attention? Because Apple puts an enormous amount of time and attention into the design of their products. Sure, they get things wrong. Sure, some other companies do some similar things. But if every company put the same amount of time and attention into design, Apple wouldn't stand out, they'd be just another company. A lot of other companies are just trying to get a product, something to sell, out the door.
Companies often focus on things they think will increase sales, not on things specifically designed to help the customer. This is why, at one point, car companies were adding and hyping cupholders rather than safety features, because focus groups told them cupholders would sell more cars/SUVs (and cupholders are not expensive to add, you literally just mold the plastic in a different shape). If TV/streaming box makers didn't think of adding a buzzer, or if they don't think they'll make more money back in increased sales of their product over the competitor's to cover the cost of designing and implementing a buzzer, then they don't bother. There's no evil cackling laughter of "we'll sell replacement remotes and RULE THE WORLD!" There's a lot of actual evil out there in the world, go after that instead.
Personally, I think the lack of a buzzer in the most recent Apple TV remote is a notable mistake / missed opportunity on Apple's part, because they do pay lots of attention to design, they've already got the 2-way bluetooth communication channel with the remote, and they're making a big deal of "Find My" for all their other devices. If I had to guess, it happened this way because the designs for the current Apple TV (and remote) were probably on the shelf for a couple years before they finally decided to release it (there was a lot of talk of competing designs - either this modest improvement or a much more powerful box to support more game console-ish uses), and when the product finally got the green light, they didn't take the time to redesign the remote to add a buzzer. Oh well. Probably the next one will have it (because "Find My" seems to be a unifying theme for Apple).