Apple's new Siri Remote is getting rave reviews, but it missed an open goal

The brand new Apple TV 4K is on sale and debuts a brand new Siri Remote that remedies some of the very fair criticisms of the original. However, for all the rave early reviews, the new clicker isn’t perfect.

Despite recent rumours, the new, thicker, silver remote with the d-pad and circular swiping pad doesn’t pack an AirTag-like tracker that’ll enable it to holler for help when it inevitably gets lost between the sofa cushions.

Heaven knows we spend a valuable 17 seconds searching for the current blighter every day, so the ability to be guided to it with millimetre precision (thanks to the U1 chip) would have been a welcome addition.

Alas, Apple decided against it and now we know why. In an interview with Mobile Syrup, Apple VP Tim Twerdahl said Apple is more concerned with what AirTags can do outside the home, while he also reckons the additional girth means people won’t be losing the remote as often.

The VP of product marketing for home and audio said: “We are super excited about AirTags and what we’re doing with U1, and part of that power is the Find My network and the fact that we can leverage a billion devices around the world to help you find stuff. To your point, that is the most powerful out of the home. With the changes we’ve made to the Siri Remote — including making it a bit thicker so it won’t fall in your couch cushions as much — that need to have all these other network devices find it seems a little bit lower.”

Well, we’re not so sure about that. A lot of it will depend on the couch in question, but the new remote is 9.55mm thick compared to the 6.33mm on the first-gen model. Is that 3mm enough to stop it slipping between your cushions?

Anyway, just because Apple hasn’t built an AirTag into the new Siri Remote, it doesn’t mean you can’t add one yourself, if you’re totally desperate. Granted, glueing one on isn’t going to do much for the aesthetics, but it’ll get the job done. To keep things a little more discreet, may we suggest a Tile Sticker?

We’ll have a review of the Apple TV 4K in the days to come. We’re confident it’ll sit among the best set-top box list for 2021.
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