Apple's new Siri Remote will be sold separately from the new Apple TV 4K for $59 and is backwards compatible with previous Apple TV 4Ks and Apple TV HD
Some thoughts on Apple's ‘Spring Loaded’ event... Tweets: Dan Moren / @dmoren : Yep, the new Apple TV 4K has a Thread radio! https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/... Joanna Stern / @joannastern : Good news for all of us who have been living in Apple TV remote hell: The new Apple TV Siri remote is available SEPERATELY for $59. https://twitter.com/... Tony Fadell / @tfadell : Everything old is new again... The iPod-like Clickwheel returns!! 🙌 Sure hope I can upgrade all my existing Apple TVs. 🤞 Apple unveils a redesigned remote for its new Apple TV 4K https://www.theverge.com/... @ijustine : Newly designed AppleTV remote is honestly something that was much needed.. it looks pretty nice! Excited to test it! #AppleEvent https://twitter.com/... Tom Warren / @tomwarren : so the new Apple TV 4K has HDMI 2.1. No listed 120Hz support, but that could certainly come later https://9to5mac.com/... https://twitter.com/... Quinn Nelson / @snazzyq : This might be the best day of my life. BURN IN HELL old Apple TV! Walt Mossberg / @waltmossberg : Exciting news! In tiny type at the bottom of the press release, @Apple says you can buy the awesome new Apple TV remote separately for $59! You don't have to buy an entirely new Apple TV! https://www.apple.com/... Joey Banks / @joeyabanks : Apple went from making what felt like the worst TV remote available to what now looks like it could be one of the best. https://twitter.com/... @tldtoday : new Apple TV remote looking thiccc https://twitter.com/... Dave Pell / @davepell : Apple buried the lede. You knew Walt wouldn't. https://twitter.com/... Quinn Nelson / @snazzyq : Oh, WOW! If it's compatible with the current AppleTV I have almost no incentive to upgrade. Nice, Apple! https://twitter.com/... Michael Flarup / @flarup : As someone who has worked on *a lot* of Apple TV apps there's so much awesome going on here (buttons, yay!) But changing the label on the ‘back’ button from ‘MENU’ to ‘<’ is going to help so many people better understand the mental model in apps on the platform 🙌 #appleevent https://twitter.com/... Chet Faliszek / @chetfaliszek : To be fair a popsicle stick stuck in dog poop would have been an improvement over the old remote. https://twitter.com/... Dieter Bohn / @backlon : I JUST noticed that the new Siri Remote has a BACK button instead of “Menu.” I'm sure they're basically the same function but as an Android user it is pretty pretty funny to know there's now an iOS-based device with a physical back button. https://www.theverge.com/... https://twitter.com/... Dave Pell / @davepell : Apple shackled its most loyal fans with the single worst tech product of a generation. And now we get to pay 60 bucks to end the nightmare? No. You pay me the 60 bucks and send someone over from the genius bar to help me search between my couch cushions. https://twitter.com/... Dan Seifert / @dcseifert : almost forgot to tweet that the new Apple TV remote still doesn't have any sponsored button crap, making it the last remote standing without them. of course it costs more than a whole-ass Chromecast with Google TV so https://www.theverge.com/...
Context & Ripple Effects
Apple’s TV control hardware had previously been framed around a touch surface, physical buttons, and motion sensing in early remote-design reporting. The separate-sale decision turns the redesigned controller into an upgrade path for the installed Apple TV base rather than a feature reserved for a hardware refresh.
Follow-on coverage characterized the new remote’s click wheel and power button as strong improvements, while also judging the new Apple TV 4K expensive in its subsequent review. That makes the controller’s availability on its own especially consequential for existing-device owners.
First-order effects
- Owners of earlier Apple TV 4K models and Apple TV HD can replace or upgrade the controller for $59 without buying a new streaming box.
- Apple separates a key usability improvement from the Apple TV 4K purchase, creating an accessory sale alongside the hardware refresh.
Second-order effects
- The $59 option gives existing Apple TV owners a lower-cost way to address a remote problem, reducing the pressure to replace otherwise compatible hardware.
- For new Apple TV buyers, the remote becomes a differentiator whose value must be weighed against the higher overall device cost noted in reviews.
Third-order effects
- If Apple continues to make interface hardware backward-compatible, Apple TV upgrades may increasingly split into modular accessory purchases and less-frequent box replacements.
- The move is one example of reducing a remote’s loss-and-replacement burden by treating the controller as a supported product in its own right rather than a bundled disposable.
The trend: Streaming-device makers are extending product lifecycles by unbundling high-friction interface hardware into compatible replacement and upgrade accessories.