Remember That Alternative Apple TV Remote? It's Now Available Through Deutsche Telekom

[MacRumors]

Back in November, Universal Electronics announced the launch of a third-party Apple TV Remote that was meant to be provided to cable, satellite, and MVPD customers. At the time, there was no word on which cable companies might offer the remote, but now it appears that it's available through T-Mobile parent company Deutsche Telekom.

According to Universal Electronics, Deutsche Telekom will be providing the remote to German customers who subscribe to its MagentaTV service, which comes with an Apple TV 4K. Deutsche Telekom allows customers to get the Apple TV 4K as either a rental or purchase device to access the MagentaTV service.

Deutsche Telekom's website for MagentaTV says that the remote control was "developed for MagentaTV" and has been certified by Apple. The Bluetooth-enabled remote can be used to get directly to MagentaTV's content, and it offers similar functionality as Apple's own Siri Remote.

The MagentaTV button goes to the electronic content guide for the service, and there are dedicated channel up/down buttons for browsing. A Siri button activates Siri on the Apple TV, and there are also buttons for controlling content playback.

Universal Electronics says that its remote features an ergonomic form factor with hard-capped keys for enhanced tactile feedback, along with an accelerometer and ambient light sensor to power backlit keys in low light environments. It includes Apple's Made for iPhone authentication chip to ensure secure connectivity to the Apple TV.

There is no way to purchase the Universal Electronics remote on a standalone basis, though Universal Electronics does offer it to other cable providers. Spectrum offers a similar version of the remote, as does France's Free internet provider.

This is not the first time that an alternative Apple TV remote has been made available for cable customers. Swiss telco Salt in 2019 launched a third-party remote control option for the Apple TV, for example.

Apple in April 2021 refreshed the Apple TV 4K and introduced a revamped version of the Siri Remote that's larger and thicker, with an aluminum body. The new version of the remote does away with the touch surface that was at the top of the prior remote and instead adopts a touch-enabled clickpad that has gesture support.


Article Link: Remember That Alternative Apple TV Remote? It's Now Available Through Deutsche Telekom

 

[max2]

Nice. Very cool!

 

[jwt0001]

Isn’t this the one that Spectrum is selling to its customers that is specially programmed for their app?

 

[cloudphrenia]

I'm just starting to like the new aTV remote, but I may have to pick this one up someday for that backlight. It is a shame Apple left that out.

 

[jclo]

Isn’t this the one that Spectrum is selling to its customers that is specially programmed for their app?

Yes, it looks the same! Added a mention to the article.

 

[fischersd]

Heh...did they have the wherewithal to ensure it has a U1 chip inside? (that will make it a must-have item)

 

[DanTSX]

It looks better than the new hideous Apple TV remote

 

[donguevas]

You mean the one that Spectrum in the US has been shipping for a few months now?

 

[SkyRom]

This is awesome. I’ve been waiting for Logitech to get in on the Universal Voice Remote game for awhile, or old school TiVo ?

 

[kerr]

Black is not the ideal color for a tv remote.

 

[Alex586]

Also sold in France by Free Telecom for 96€ (Apple TV 4K 2021 - 32Gb + remote), yes, only 96€ !

 

[Juicy Box]

Apple in April 2021 refreshed the Apple TV 4K and introduced a revamped version of the Siri Remote that's larger and thicker, with an aluminum body. The new version of the remote does away with the touch surface that was at the top of the prior remote and instead adopts a touch-enabled clickpad that has gesture support.

Too bad that many of the games on Apple Arcade won't work with the new remote since it lost some of the sensors that the original Siri Remote has.

 

[dancormier]

I have it with Spectrum. Its super comfy compared to the old and new Apple branded remotes and if you push the guide button it launches the Spectrum App so you can get right to live TV. I was very inexpensive too, I feel like I paid around $13 for it so no real harm done if I lose it or spill my coffee all over it.

 

[hagar]

Too bad that many of the games on Apple Arcade won't work with the new remote since it lost some of the sensors that the original Siri Remote has.

Is that true? How hard can Apple mess this up?

if they wanted to remove the sensors from the previous (awful) remote, they should have added some kind of game controller in the box. So all the games companies developed for the thing keep working.

It’s not like they’re not charging enough.

 

[contacos]

I just use the remote of my tv for the Apple TV ??‍♂️ Much less likely to loose on the couch due to its color and size

 

[MediaMind]

The same thing you can buy with Switzerland's internet provider "Sunrise"... I got it a few months ago and I'm happy.

 

[G5isAlive]

The most meaningful part of this article for me was.. you can't buy it from here. I mean its great for specific cable customers to have a choice, but for the majority of us.. get all excited and then boom. can't get it lol.

 

[MikeX]

why is volume at the most unreachable place?

moronic design.

 

[contacos]

why is volume at the most unreachable place?

moronic design.

how is that unreachable, It’s actually in the perfect position when you are right handed. Your thumb will almost automatically go there

 

[dave070]

For the new Apple remote, I've been happy with this case. Fixes one of the major issues.

elago R5 Locator Case Compatible with 2021 Apple TV Siri Remote and Compatible with Apple AirTag​

 

[machpost]

Some of the buttons on that remote bear more than a passing resemblance to those on the current Fios TV Voice Remote:

 

[dancormier]

Black is not the ideal color for a tv remote.

Just about every remote control I have ever had has been black. I remember when my family first got cable circa 1983 the re

 

[friedmud]

This is awesome. I’ve been waiting for Logitech to get in on the Universal Voice Remote game for awhile, or old school TiVo ?

?

Logitech _was_ in the universal remote game... for a VERY long time. The Harmony remotes were theirs.

However - they just stopped the line - which is incredibly sad.

 

[Juicy Box]

Too bad that many of the games on Apple Arcade won't work with the new remote since it lost some of the sensors that the original Siri Remote has.

Is that true? How hard can Apple mess this up?

Yes, it is true.

While a controller would be more ideal, plenty of games in Apple Arcade and the tvOS App Store can be played with the Siri Remote, and some games are designed to be played with it.

Apple's new Apple TV remote is missing the sensors that made the Siri Remote good for many of the ATV games.

I suspect Apple did this to reduce costs, and figured that many ATV users don't play games so they wouldn't notice the downgrade.

 

[jagooch]

This article got my hopes up until I realized I can’t get this remote.

I’d switch from my Nvidia Shield Pro to Apple TV if there was a backlit remote for it.