| Cult of Mac

5 secret remote tricks to supercharge your Apple TV

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tvOS changes the default scrubbing behavior of your Siri Remote, and we couldn't be more glad.
tvOS changes the default scrubbing behavior of your Siri Remote, and we couldn't be more glad.
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

Your Apple TV remote is an amazing little device that lets you manage your big TV exerience. There are quite a few little settings you may have missed, though, when you started up your new Apple TV.

You can adjust and tweak your way through the Apple TV settings to make the most of your time with the remote, including monitoring its battery, adjusting accessibility options, and — yes — even figuring out what Siri commands you can use.

Here are five of them, just for you.

5 hidden remote touchpad tricks will make you an Apple TV expert

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Apple TV remote

The new Apple TV remote is a thing of beauty. It’s got six simple buttons, it’s rechargeable and it features a beautifully simple touchpad at the top to swipe across menus, app icons and letters to enter passwords.

But the simple joy of using the touchpad is very Apple-like. There are hidden secrets to the surface uses, with

Here’s how to get the most out of your Apple TV remote touchpad.

How to use your old TV remote with your new Apple TV

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The smaller one is way better.
The smaller one is way better.
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

The new Apple TV remote is a wondrous touch- and motion-enabled trackpad with a few simple buttons that lets you do everything on your new black hockey puck of joy, including playing games, swiping through apps, and, well, playing and pausing your movies and TV shows.

What happens when you lose it somewhere in the depths of your couch, though? The iPhone Remote app no longer works with the new Apple TV, and unless you have an Apple Store nearby, you’re gonna want to have a backup plan in place.

Might as well take a couple of minutes and set up your regular old TV remote to work with Apple TV, right?

Here’s how.

Yes, your glass Apple TV remote will break if you drop it

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The first known casualty of the new Apple TV is this dropped remote.
The first known casualty of the new Apple TV is this dropped remote.
Photo: right2pandaarms/Reddit

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).