The utter Apple TV remote does n’t yet subsist . Sure , it got safe with thelast generation , when a slight touchpad was replaced by what looks like an iPod chatter wheel . But it ’s not exactly innovative .
Why settle for fixing existing problems , when you could recall outside the box seat ?
Samsung late released a newEco Remote , a smashing remote control with a solar panel on the back that eliminates the pauperization for AAA batteries . The shape is also quite quiet – it almost appear like something Apple might release , if we ignore the incongruous Word .
Sure , it ’s saucy to do off with assault and battery , but above all what Apple should take inspiration from here is presume to add together a few extra buttons . I recognise that Apple is sensitised to button , and sometimes that makes sense – we all own at least one dusty plastic remote control with far too many buttons that we never expend . But sometimes four well - select extra button can lend tremendous note value to a little part of plastic .
With these extra buttons , Apple could call on the Siri Remote into the Home Remote . Let the spare buttons be hotkeys for control scenes , automation and accoutrement in HomeKit .
Maybe the buttons could be programme to do other things too ? They could trigger that dinner party playlist in Apple Music , played on a nearby HomePod . They could start an mechanisation in Shortcuts , or pink your iPhone .
It would still be primarily a remote for the Apple TV , but with the ability to hold in an entire Apple base .
The simple joy of a button on the wall
One trouble with the smart - home construct is the way that controls are so often hide away in apps on your phone . Turning on a chic light requires far too many tap on a screen to clear a task that in a ‘ dumb home ’ is carry out by agitate a clitoris on the wall .
That release is always in the same blank space , and it always works , immediately . There ’s no searching for your telephone ; no waiting for a signaling , or for an app to fire up .
In reality , the average fresh home would be far well off with more physical controls . And Apple can make that hap by free an Apple idiot box remote ascendance with a few more buttons .
Why specifically the Apple TV ’s remote ? It ’s perfect for HomeKit cutoff . It never leaves the base , and is usually found in the same one or two place : the sofa , the coffee table , peradventure the unit of measurement that the television sits on . By focalise our upgrading drive on this remote control , we can transfer our HomeKit verify to a convenient and simple twist that ’s always close at manus .
Hi Siri, I’m Home
In terms of branding – no small condition for Apple – it makes little sensation in any case to call the accessory the Siri Remote . How often is Siri actually used on Apple idiot box ?
Siri may well stay on our new remote , but we ’ll instead emphasise the smart - home element . Apple boob tube is already a hub that runs HomeKit in the background , so the connector is n’t far - fetched .
There have been hearsay that Apple will shortly launch ahomeOSoperating system dedicate to its sassy - home base ecosystem . But alongside its new take on package and services for the home environment , Apple has a chance to make home hardware better too .
Apple , it ’s time to scrap the Siri Remote and make a Home Remote instead .
Different Think is a weekly editorial in which Macworld writer expose their less mainstream opinions to public scrutiny . This article originally appeared onMacworld Sweden . Translation ( usingDeepL ) by David Price .
