The tech accessories industry had better get to work on coming up with a protective case for a new Apple product that appears to be fragile – the remote control for Apple TV.
The above remote fell onto a tiled floor from a person’s lap and shattered. It does not work, costing the owner an extra $79 to replace it (nope, he did not purchase Apple Care).
The shattered remote was featured Sunday on Reddit by user right2pandaarms and drew more than 300 comments. The remote slipped off a roommate’s lap from the couch.
“I couldn’t believe it, (it) looked like it got ran over by a car,” right2pandaarms wrote. “Luckily, my roommate says he’ll gladly pay for a new remote.”
The new Apple TV began arriving on doorsteps and on some store shelves last week. It has gotten several favorable reviews with high marks in particular for the redesigned remote that features a “touch-sensitive trackpad that is a blessing,” according to Cult of Mac editor and publisher Leander Kahney.
That blessing may also have a curse similar to the screens on the iPhone because the trackpad is made out of glass. Who doesn’t know an iPhone user who hasn’t shattered a screen? Apple has worked hard to bring stronger glass to each new generation.
Little if anything is known about the kind of drop tests Apple conducted on the TV remote but adding glass to it, one would presume dropping it a few times was part of the development phase.
Consider your television habits and think about how many times you’ve placed your television remote on the arm of a comfy recliner and sent it flying with the sweep of an arm. Shouldn’t the glass be able to withstand the butt of a couch potato who frequently sits on their remote?
As news of the broken remote circulates, there are sure to be self-proclaimed tech experts taking to YouTube with results of their drop tests/ass tests to opine on whether this is a real concern or if this particular case was just a fluke fall.
One Reddit reader said Apple will request its stores collect broken products for analysis and suggested to right2pandaarms bring ti make to a store to see if they will replace it for free.
Source: The Next Web
David Pierini is a former newspaper writer and long-time photographer. Considered a luddite by most of his friends, they did not believe him when he broke the news that he would be writing for a technology website. He is fascinated by human nature and would love to cultivate stories about the people driving the tech bus. Reach out to him at [email protected].
21 responses to “Yes, your glass Apple TV remote will break if you drop it”
All we need now is for Otterbox to design a case for this!
Treat the remote with care, just like you do your phone. If you don’t have carpet in the room, for God’s sake, don’t balance it on the arm of a sofa. Also, maybe buy the strap would be a good idea if you are clumsy and tend to drop things.
No. A remote should be durable enough not to break when you drop it. Or affordable enough to replace if it does break. It should be able to survive being used by children who don’t know any better. The worst thing that ever happens if you drop any other remote is that the batteries pop out. They should rework this remote with a plastic screen.
They should make it out of the same material as the Magic Trackpad. There is no display on the remote, so glass doesn’t make sense — especially for a motion gaming controller.
The iFan enablers are make me want to puke.
I have dropped my existing Apple TV remote at least 5 times in 4 years. I will drop this new one, and it will probably break. It is inevitable.
I’ve never dropped my iPhone. Ever. But, as the author mentions, people put their remotes in places where they can be dropped. You need it nearby when you watch TV. I don’t drop my iPhone because I always put it somewhere it can’t be knocked off a shelf. Do I do this with a TV remote? Get up off the sofa, take it off its safe haven (the shelf) and use it? The whole point of the remote is that you don’t have to get up. WTF?!?
Design flaw or money maker? In either event, this is going to piss off a lot of people.
From what I understand, you can use the old remote. I have read reviews that the trackpad makes it hard to navigate menus and overshoot menu items. Anyone who has used the Apple Remote (cr)app has probably experienced it. I was hoping, with a dedicated touchpad remote, they would have it calibrated to work better, but reviewers are saying it’s not a great experience.
The Magic Trackpad has a glass touch surface, too. However, the Magic Mouse is plastic, which proves plastic would have worked fine for the remote.
That last sentence reads like a captcha.
It’s funny. I have so many objects in my house that will break if you drop them on something like ceramic tiles. I guess that’s why I tend to be careful about dropping them. I only have carpeting where my TVs are and wood elsewhere. My remotes have fallen from the couch but they harmlessly bounce off the carpeting. People do need to be careful about dropping expensive gadgets. I’ve known people who’ve dropped cheap remotes and they stopped functioning. I guess the internals couldn’t take the shock.
Will this remote breakage cause a class-action suit because Apple made the remote too fragile. It must be really tough to run a company to have to avoid any future unforeseeable problems. I hope Apple replaces it for free so as not to cause some stupid “AppleTVremotebreak-gate” scandal.
My $900 iPhone will break if I drop it on a hard surface, but Apple will not fix it. Even with accidental coverage they still charge you to fix it. So, moral of the story is be careful. Treat the remote like its glass–which by the way it is. And if you can’t handle it, then do not have any breakables in your house whatsoever. Eat off of plastic dishes. .
Or shut the hell up and keep your worthless opinion to yourself because simply put this is a TV remote and not a phone. It should not break.
Have Apple design you a rubber remote built for 5 year olds. The rest of us adults who know how to take care of things will keep ours.
Exactly. This is a TV remote. It has no display. Glass is transparent. It is not a suitable material for a remote and motion game controller. They crapped the bed on this one.
Remotes and game controllers are typically not made of glass. I’m sure, in this universe of wackadoo products, some other company has made remotes out of questionable materials. I have seen some Logitech universal remotes with displays, but they seem to use clear plastic.
But there is no good reason to use glass. Not for a trackpad. The Magic Trackpad is not made of glass. You can drop it hundreds of times and it will not break.
Good idea. I will cover up the hardwood floor I just had installed with carpeting so I won’t break my Apple TV remote. Problem solved. You should work at Apple! You’re a genius!
Just a reminder that you can add other remotes, including a normal TV remote, the iOS Remote app, and the 1keyboard app for OS X (which enables controlling your AppleTV via your Mac). I am so entrenched in using other remotes that I doubt I will use the new one anyone than I do the old one.
Are you sure Apple Care would have covered this? In the Terms & Conditions, under “What’s Not Covered” it says this: “accident, abuse, misuse, liquid contact, fire, earthquake or other external cause,”
“Yes, your glass Apple TV remote will break if you drop it”
From my own experience, so will a Rolex watch, an iPhone, a bottle of beer, a Mont Blanc fountain pen, a bottle of pickles, a Fiestaware cereal bowl (both vintage and reissue), an ice cream cone, the power adaptor for Stax Electrostatic ear-speakers (the cover was removed, which added to its vulnerability), a vacuum tube and a bacon-cheeseburger. The burger didn’t actually break, but after the drop it was a real mess.
What other TV remote or game controller is made of glass? Why not use the same material as the Magic Trackpad? Glass makes sense only for a display. They either crapped the bed or this is a profit generator. At $80 for a replacement, more than half the price of the set, I suspect the latter.
WTF happened to Apple in the past year. iOS 8 sucks. iOS 9 sucks. OS X is starting to suck. I’m not switching, but I am also not buying anything new until they can deliver quality.
I live in the Valley and I know the top talent work at startups, not Apple. It seems that they are hiring mediocre Apple fan yes-men. These types of decisions seem to be the product of groupthink (like we see in this thread — slavish enablement and confirmation of a design flaw).
They really crapped the bed on Apple TV. I have used Apple TV for four years, and was so looking forward to this. After the keynote, my jaw dropped — it’s not even a “me too” product. It’s not as good as the competition. Apple usually leapfrogs the competition.
After a horrible experience with Apple Music, I am back to using Spotify.
Apple isn’t a monolith. They do some things well (Mac, iPhone) and some things poorly (stock apps, Apple TV, to some extent, the iPad).
‘remotegate’ !!!
A glass remote? Not even I can defend Apple on this.
Apple care wouldn’t have done anything though – they never do. I love my apple products, but the support & AppleCare stuff has become garbage. I’ve had every iPhone, iPad, now the Apple Watch and probably about 4-5 Mac computers over my life and I can’t remember the last time AppleCare covered something wrong with any of them. Always falls under an exception and I have to pay full price.
Returning my new Apple TV. Getting the new Ray Super Remote- beautiful touchscreen design (kinda looks like an iPhone) with Apple-like interface, and it is the ONE remote that controls EVERYTHING (tvs, receivers, soundbars, set-top boxes (Verizon FIOS, Time Warner), dvrs, gaming boxes, blu-ray players, streaming devices (i.e. Apple tv, roku, fire, etc., etc.). The new Apple remote only controls the Apple TV box. It is also smart, learns your likes and dislikes. Quite frankly, it is the remote that should be with the new Apple tv. Check it out. Apple has been been outdone! It is pricy, though- $250.
http://www.cultofmac.com/389228/first-siri-remote-cover-advocates-safe-gaming/