[B. Shoe]

We went to pick up a new Apple Watch for the significant other yesterday and decided to grab one of the newer Siri Remotes for our Apple TV 4K box. She's simply not a fan of the (I guess you would call it a second generation?) remote. Just wanted to share some initial thoughts:

• This remote feels very solid in your hands. Just a bit larger than the second-gen remote, but definitely has a more secure feel in your hands.
• The tactile direction buttons around the trackpad are the real win here. Navigating through things like YouTube TV are a lot easier. Holding down on the tactile buttons will quickly scroll down through the channel guide.
• I would LOVE the circle trackpad (built into the tactile button ring) if it continued to scroll forward when you get halfway around the circle. It's the only real quirky part of this product. Scrolling from 12 o'clock to 6 o'clock moves things right, but once you get from 6 o'clock and start moving back up towards 12 o'clock, it moves you back left.
• Having the power button on the top is a nice addition.

In short, if you've got an older ATV4K and aren't fan of the black remote, this is a decent product to look at.

 

[inkahauts]

You are doing it wrong…. Haha!

No really there is a way to properly get it to scroll all the way around. Hold your finger on the wheel till the little wheel shows up on the play bar, then start rotating around.

I prefer this over the old one too. Big upgrade imho. Some people complain it clicks. That doesn't bother me a bit.

 

[B. Shoe]

You are doing it wrong…. Haha!

No really there is a way to properly get it to scroll all the way around. Hold your finger on the wheel till the little wheel shows up on the play bar, then start rotating around.

I prefer this over the old one too. Big upgrade imho. Some people complain it clicks. That doesn't bother me a bit.

Ha! I can definitely overcome user error when it comes to the wheel. Agreed on the clicks. This remote feels very solid, yet still small and doesn't stand out while sitting on the couch or end table. Mind you, I didn't mind the old remote. To me, everything is just a system that you learn to use. But the significant other is very happy with the newer remote.

 

[Rich]

You are doing it wrong…. Haha!

No really there is a way to properly get it to scroll all the way around. Hold your finger on the wheel till the little wheel shows up on the play bar, then start rotating around.

I prefer this over the old one too. Big upgrade imho. Some people complain it clicks. That doesn't bother me a bit.

I like the new remotes. I didn't understand the need for a Mute button and its placement disturbed me. But I got used to it quickly and I'm thinking about putting these remotes on all my ATVs.

Rich

 

[NashGuy]

I like the new remotes. I didn't understand the need for a Mute button and its placement disturbed me. But I got used to it quickly and I'm thinking about putting these remotes on all my ATVs.

I wasn't a hater of the original remote but I do like this new one better. (I just went ahead and bought the new model box while they were still offering the free year of ATV+, then sold the old one on eBay.) My only little gripe is that I wish they had left the button layout as it was before and added the new mute button in a new location, such as on the side, where the Siri button now resides. I use Siri may more than mute and clicking the Siri button on the side is a bit awkward. Still find myself wanting to click it in its old spot. But I'm getting used to it, not a big deal.

 

[inkahauts]

I let my dad try my new remote out…. He always has trouble with the swiping when navigating any screen. He doesn’t have a lot of feeling in his fingers. (Always had problems with Touch ID too).

Needless to say he loved the new one and got a I got him the new remote.

 

[Rich]

I wasn't a hater of the original remote but I do like this new one better. (I just went ahead and bought the new model box while they were still offering the free year of ATV+, then sold the old one on eBay.) My only little gripe is that I wish they had left the button layout as it was before and added the new mute button in a new location, such as on the side, where the Siri button now resides. I use Siri may more than mute and clicking the Siri button on the side is a bit awkward. Still find myself wanting to click it in its old spot. But I'm getting used to it, not a big deal.

I liked the older version of the ATV remotes. I did not complain about them. I think the new remotes are a bit better. Yeah, they could have done a better job with the placement of the buttons, sticking the Mute button where they did annoyed me but I got used to it. I still don't see a reason to have the Mute button.

Rich

 

[Rich]

I let my dad try my new remote out…. He always has trouble with the swiping when navigating any screen. He doesn't have a lot of feeling in his fingers. (Always had problems with Touch ID too).

Needless to say he loved the new one and got a I got him the new remote.

I'm still trying to figure out why I bought the new ATV, I like the remotes but I don't see much of a difference in performance in the new ATV.

Rich

 

[NashGuy]

I'm still trying to figure out why I bought the new ATV, I like the remotes but I don't see much of a difference in performance in the new ATV.

Only functional difference I've seen is that I can now watch HDR videos in the YouTube app. But unfortunately that app won't trigger the box to auto-switch to HDR mode like other apps do. So you have to go into the tvOS settings and force HDR to be kept on for everything in order to get HDR videos in YouTube to play in HDR. Otherwise, they just play in SDR.

So yeah, not a major upgrade! But my thinking was that I was buying a few years of future-proofing in terms of future feature/OS upgrades and life of the hardware.

 

[Rich]

Only functional difference I've seen is that I can now watch HDR videos in the YouTube app. But unfortunately that app won't trigger the box to auto-switch to HDR mode like other apps do. So you have to go into the tvOS settings and force HDR to be kept on for everything in order to get HDR videos in YouTube to play in HDR. Otherwise, they just play in SDR.

So yeah, not a major upgrade! But my thinking was that I was buying a few years of future-proofing in terms of future feature/OS upgrades and life of the hardware.

I just bought it because it was new and I wanted to try it.

Rich

 

[b4pjoe]

I just bought it because it was new and I wanted to try it.

Rich

I think the CPU upgrade was mainly for people that game with it. It is still going to take 2 hours to watch a 2 hour movie on Netflix though.

 

[Rich]

I think the CPU upgrade was mainly for people that game with it. It is still going to take 2 hours to watch a 2 hour movie on Netflix though.

In any event, the new box didn't make me want to run out and buy four more new ATVs for the other sets. I am thinking about buying the new remotes for the other boxes.

Rich