Siri Remote - page 2

Roku’s new 4K streamer kills Apple TV on price

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Roku
Roku is dominating the streaming wars.
Photo: Roku

Apple’s plan to dominate the 4K TV streaming market is up against some tough competition from the top company in the game.

Fresh off its IPO, Roku revealed its brand new lineup of streaming dongles today and while they may not pack as much processing power as the new Apple TV 4K, they have one killer feature that will lure in tons of buyers: a cheap price tag.

New remote for Apple TV will pack haptic feedback

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Apple TV remote
The Apple TV remote is getting a big upgrade.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The Apple TV is set to get some big upgrades during Apple’s huge keynote tomorrow, but one unexpected surprise could bring some big changes to the Siri remote.

After doing some digging into the code from the leaked iOS 11 GM, developer Guilherme Rambo found new references indicate the Siri remote will be upgraded as well. This time it could gain haptic feedback.

Developers get fourth beta of tvOS 10.2

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apple tv and siri remote
New beta software is out for Apple TV.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple seeded a new beta build of tvOS 10.2 to developers today, bringing a number of bug fixes and performance improvements to the Apple TV.

The new tvOS beta update comes just over a week after Apple released the last beta for tvOS 10.2. Because of the tricky installations requirements the beta is not available to public testers.

New Remote app for Apple TV is now available to the public

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Remote app for Apple TV on iPhone
Say hello to the new Remote app.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Controlling the new Apple TV just got a lot easier today now that Apple has finally released a brand-new version of its Remote app for iOS.

The all new Remote app can completely replace the Siri Remote that comes with Apple TV, allowing watchers to take full control of their viewing experience, without having to put down their iPhone.

Quick tip lets you take control of Apple TV video

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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

There’s a new Apple TV update in town, and it adds a few obvious features, like Bluetooth keyboard support and Siri Dictation in search and user name/password fields.

tvOS 9.2 also has some less-obvious improvements, though. For instance, it’s easy to locate the exact spot you want to find in any video. Here’s how to scrub through video on Apple TV with your Siri Remote in tvOS 9.2.

Soon, you can run Apple TV from your iPhone

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Siri Remote menu button
Your tininess and fragility doesn't scare us anymore.
Photo: Evan Killham/Cult of Mac

An upcoming update to the iPhone’s Remote app will let it completely control your Apple TV.

We’re looking forward to this because while we love the Siri Remote that comes with Apple’s latest streaming box, it has a few problems. First, it’s tiny, and we’ve discovered it wedged inside the absolute farthest and darkest corners of our couches far too often. It’s also covered in glass, and while we know that it’s really strong glass, we’re slightly afraid of breaking it because see Point 1: It’s just a little thing.

Third, if the worst happens and we do lose or break our Siri Remote, a replacement costs $79, and then the anxiety starts all over again.

In other words, bring on the update, Apple.

How to get the most out of Siri on 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

Use the power of your voice to watch TV. That’s not something out of Star Trek, but the promise of Siri on the fourth-generation Apple TV.

Beyond basic commands to find your favorite TV shows and movies, you might not know how much Siri can actually do for you. But using Siri Apple TV voice commands will unlock loads of helpful features, including reading onscreen labels, getting more in-depth info about whatever you’re watching, navigating various screens, and even playing music on demand.

And it’s bound to get better yet, as the new tvOS beta is bringing Siri dictation to search fields and the App Store.

Here’s how to get the most out of Siri on your Apple TV.

How I quickly fixed a weird Siri Remote problem

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Wonky Menu button? Try this weird trick.
Wonky Menu button? Try this weird trick.
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

I’ve been suffering with this strange issue for about a week: my Apple TV’s Siri Remote’s Menu button stopped working.

All the other buttons–Home, Siri, Volume and Play–worked, so it didn’t seem like a huge deal at first. But then I was digging around in the Settings app and realized that the Menu button is indispensible for one thing: moving backward in an app. Without it, I was stuck in the Settings pane that I had clicked through to; there was no getting back to the main Settings page.

Here’s what I did to get the Siri Remote’s Menu button working again.

How to restart (or just ‘sleep’) your Apple TV

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Reboot your Apple TV with style.
Reboot your Apple TV with style.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Is your Apple TV glitching out in some way? While I’ve not personally seen any weirdness with the rock-solid OS that comes with the Apple TV, it’s possible that you might have.

As most of us know, rebooting our Mac or restarting our iOS devices can save us from all sorts of odd behaviors; the same could be said of Apple TV. Here’s how to restart that little black box of joy, plus an easy way to get it into low-power sleep mode.

Apple’s biggest wins (and most epic fails) of 2015

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It was the best of designs, it was the worst of designs. Apple  really went for it in 2015, with varying degrees of success.
It was the best of designs, it was the worst of designs. Apple really went for it in 2015, with varying degrees of success.
Image: Stephen Smith/Cult of Mac

Cult of Mac's Best of 2015 2015 was a bold year for Apple. The company jumped into new product categories, polished its existing hardware and software lines, and wowed us repeatedly.

Apple also made most of us throw up in our mouths a little bit now and then, due to some questionable (and some undeniably bad) choices.

These are Apple’s biggest wins and most epic fails of the past year, as remembered — fondly and otherwise — by Cult of Mac staffers.

Apple TV ad shows just how big the small screen has become

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The future of television is Apple TV.
The future of television is Apple TV.
Photo: Apple

Apple is pushing its new iteration of Apple TV hard, hoping to move it beyond a “hobby” into a must-have set top box for every living room and television set possible.

Apple’s new ad, “The Future of Television,” is a visual collage of just about everything you can do with the Apple TV, including watching television shows and movies, playing games, and listening to music.

Check it out.

How to undo accidental time skips on Siri Remote

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Siri Remote menu button
Apple would have called it the "Fix all of your mistakes" button, but "Menu" was easier to print.
Photo: Evan Killham/Cult of Mac

The new Apple TV’s Siri Remote is great, except for all of those times that it isn’t.

We’ve run afoul of the remote’s touchpad a few times; it’s fine for navigating (and less fine for entering passwords), but sometimes it does its job too well. For example, we can’t even count the number of times we’ve been watching a movie and accidentally nudged the pad, sending our show scrubbing all willy-nilly into the past or future.

It’s pretty annoying, but luckily, Apple thought so, too, so it gave us a couple ways to fix that mistake when it happens. The company could have just disabled the touchpad while things were playing, but we’re not engineers.

These two fixes are the next best options.

Pro tip: Tap, don’t swipe, with your Siri Remote

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Tapping will help you move up and down, one item at a time.
Tapping will help you move up and down, one item at a time.
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

If you’ve tried to type in any sort of long password or search terms into your new Apple TV using the fancy Siri Remote, you know you’ve had a tough time.

Even if you adjust the tracking to make it a little more accurate, scrolling through letters and clicking on the touch surface can be a nightmare of inaccurate clicks and missed targets.

The fine folks over at The Loop found a different way to navigate single items like this, and it’s totally amazing.

How to master the Apple TV remote’s new buttons

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Wonky Menu button? Try this weird trick.
Wonky Menu button? Try this weird trick.
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

Like all well-designed products from the Apple mothership, the new Apple TV’s remote, also known as the Siri remote, looks simple but contains a surprising amount of depth.

Sure, you might know that one press on the Menu button will take you back one screen, but what about all the other secret moves (like how to restart your Apple TV with the buttons)?

Luckily, we’re here to help you discover all the secrets of the Siri remote. Today, let’s look at the buttons and their hidden features.

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.

Is the new Apple TV this year’s most exciting release from Cupertino?

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Have you got yours yet?
Have you got yours yet?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The new Apple TV is here, and there’s no doubt it’s the best set-top box we’ve seen from Cupertino, with powerful new hardware and the tvOS operating system, Siri integration — and most importantly, support for third-party apps and games.

Friday-Night-Fights-bug-2If you’re into movies and TV shows, or playing the greatest iOS games on your big screen, the new Apple TV is probably at the top of your wish-list if you haven’t already bought one. But how does it compare to the other products Apple has launched this year? Is it better than the rest?

Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight between Cult of Android and Cult of Mac as we battle it out over that very question!

First Siri Remote cover advocates safe gaming

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Survivor Play for Siri Remote Apple TV
Griffin Technology's Survivor Play hopes to help you get a grip on your Apple TV remote.
Photo: Griffin Technology

The sweatiness of your hands may no longer be a concern when you upgrade to a new Apple TV this fall. A newly announced cover for the Siri Remote claims it will provide grip and comfort while you play iOS games on the big screen.

The accessory is called Survivor Play for Siri Remote, and it comes courtesy of Griffin Technology, known for its rugged and durable phone and tablet cases.