Currently though, the Apple TV remote is not what it used to be in terms of battery life. While in the past you would need to replace the battery after a year or two (sometimes even less often than that), now you need to recharge it once every few months. So why did this happen? The answer is quite simple: Apple decided to add more functionality to the Apple TV remote. Right now, the Apple TV includes an App Store where you can download a lot of games, but also a  remote packed with a trackpad, sensors and Siri. Speaking of which, Siri can be controlled via voice commands. As you can imagine, this has a massive impact on the battery, draining it much faster than before.

According to Apple, under normal use, you will need to recharge the battery once every 90 days or so. On the other hand, if you’re a gamer and you use the remote for gaming, then you will need to charge it more often.

The good news about this is that no longer will you need to visit your local electronics store in order to get batteries for your Apple TV remote. The latest generation Apple TV remote features a lithium ion rechargeable battery that charges in the same way as your other iOS devices, including your iPad, iPod, and iPhone. So with that in mind, let’s take a closer look at how this new remote works and how to charge apple tv remote.

How to check the charge level on your Apple TV remote

Checking the charge level on your Apple TV remote is simple.

1. To do this, you’ll first of all need to go to the Bluetooth menu since that’s where the charge level is displayed. If you want to check the charge level manually, then from the home screen, you need to go to the Settings menu.
2. Here, you’ll need to go to Remotes and Devices.
3. While you’re in this menu, look for Bluetooth and access this menu.
4. It’s in this menu that you will see an entry for the default remote. This entry is called Remote and it features a battery indicator that displays how much charge your remote has left before it needs to be recharged.

Recharging the Apple TV remote

Let’s say that you found out your Apple TV remote is low on battery. How do you recharge it? Well, compared to the previous generation of Apple TV remote controls where you had to open the remote to replace the battery, the latest generation requires that you charge it in the same way you would charge any other iOS device.

If you take a close look at the bottom of the remote control, you’ll notice a small lightning port. It’s the same type of port that you can usually find on an iPad or iPhone (latest generation). If you’re not an Apple user that already had a few other Apple devices, don’t worry. Your Apple TV will ship with a lightning cable that you can use in order to charge your Apple TV remote. Be sure to plug the cable into the remote’s Lighting port and the other end into a USB wall charger or port (either from your desktop PC or laptop).

Even if you do actually have a USC-C to lightning cable lying around, hijacking the USB-C port on the back of your Apple TV for the purpose of charging your Apple TV remote isn’t possible. This may be very practical, but it’s simply not possible. That’s because the USB-C port on the Apple TV can only be used for troubleshooting and diagnostic purposes.

Charging time

Now that you know how to charge apple tv remote, you may be wondering how long it takes for the Apple TV remote to actually charge. In our tests, the Siri remote needed about 2 hours and 30 minutes to charge. What we also liked on top of the short charging time is the fact that while the remote is charging, you can still use it.

Charging your Apple TV remote may be something you’ll be doing a lot more often with a Siri Remote, but we also cannot disregard that  this minor annoyance comes with a lot of pros as well. First of all, the new and improved Apple TV remote is packed with a lot of useful features. Secondly, you no longer have to worry about going to your local electronics store to get new batteries. Just plug your remote into a USB wall charger and in 2 and a half hours the remote is fully charged!

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The older Apple TV remotes came with a replaceable battery, whereas the newest 4th gen Apple TV comes with a Siri Remote that has a rechargeable battery.

With the older remote, you will have to remove the old battery and replace it with a new one. You couldn’t check the battery life. It features a coin type lithium 3V battery (CR2032 or BR2032) and was located at the back of the remote. It is fairly easy to remove and replace the battery.

Thankfully, the latest 4th gen Apple TV Remote or Siri Remote, features a rechargeable battery, so you don’t have to replace the battery. According to Apple, a single charge should last you about a month, with normal usage. Also, you can check how much charge your Apple TV remote battery has left.

Check Apple TV Remote Battery Life

An Apple TV Remote or the Siri Remote, for the 4th gen Apple TV, takes about 2 hours to fully charge. The remote itself doesn’t feature a charge indicator, but you can find out how much charge is left.

To check the battery life of the remote, open the Settings app on your Apple TV. Head over to Remotes and Devices>Bluetooth and find the Remote section.

Over here, you’ll see your Siri Remote with the remaining battery percentage. Apple also presents a pop-up on your Apple TV when the battery is low on the remote. And, you can even ask Siri to check the battery percentage and it will be displayed on screen.

To charge your Apple TV remote or Siri Remote, simply use the included Lightning cable. You can either connect to your computer, or a wall power outlet, to charge the remote. It will not charge if you connect it to the Apple TV’s USB outlet.

The remote can be used while it’s charging, which is a good thing.

And that’s how you check the Apple TV remote battery life and charge it. For those with the Aluminium or White Apple TV remote, a battery change will be required. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to replace the battery on older remotes, by Apple.

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A brand new Apple TV Remote app is now available for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. It can be used to control the latest Apple TV 4th gen, as well as the previous models.

The Remote app was originally demoed at WWDC in June this year, but is now available for the regular user. Prior to this, Apple had released a beta version of the app for developers only.

What does the new Apple TV Remote app do exactly? Well, if you’re using the 4th gen Apple TV, then it does everything that the physical Siri Remote does, and some more. The only thing you cannot control with the Remote app, is the volume on the Apple TV. On older Apple TV’s, everything except the Siri functionality works.

You connect the Remote app to the Apple TV using Bluetooth. Once connected, you’ll see the exact same Siri Remote on your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch display. Use the touchscreen to simulate the touch pad on the Siri remote. There’s a Play/Pause button, and another button to activate Siri. Apart from that, the app can also be as a game pad for the Apple TV, a keyboard, and you can also scrub media files.

The app can double as a gamepad and you can play multiplayer games with ease, instead of using the Siri remote. Ask your friends to download the app on their iPhone or iPad, and connect to your Apple TV. Start a multiplayer game, and get playing.

A Now Playing mode is automatically enabled when watching a movie or playing a song. Scrub forward or back using touch gestures, and play, pause or go the previous menu using the dedicated Menu button. You can even activate Siri and ask it to play a song, movie, game or just talk to it.

In the Keyboard mode, you can use the iPhone or iPad to enter text with ease. Siri dictation is also supported in the app.

To download and install the new Apple TV remote app, you’ll have to be running iOS 9.3.2 or later on your iOS device. Your Apple TV will have to be running iOS 9.2.2. It’s available as a free download from the App Store. Direct download link is available below.

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Apple announced at this year’s WWDC  they are working on a new version of the Remote app for iPhone and iPad that will get all the features of the Apple TV Siri Remote, including touch navigation, Siri and game play support. According to CNET, the redesigned app will be released to the public this summer but the beta version is now available for testing and can be accessed by registered developers.

After downloading the Apple TV Remote IPA, you will be able to install the app directly to your iPhone or iPad via iTunes. The app requires an iPhone or iPad running iOS 9.3.2 or later, and the Apple TV running tvOS 9.2.1 or later.

9to5Mac’s Jeff Benjamin has already got his hands on the new app. Taka a look at his video walkthrough:

As noted by 9to5Mac, the new Apple TV Remote will allow you to:

• Navigate Apple TV with touch gestures
• Ask Siri to find something great to watch, listen to, or play
• Dictate text, including usernames and passwords
• Enter text with the keyboard
• Play games using the accelerometer and gyroscope on your iOS device
• Game Mode with simplified game controls, available while holding your iOS device in a landscape orientation
• Controll the movie, TV show, or song that’s currently playing in the Now Playing screen

Learn more about everything Apple announced at WWDC 2016.

Be sure to follow Apple TV Hacks on Twitter, Facebook or Google+ for all the latest Apple TV-related news.

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On Monday, at the WWDC 2016 opening session, Apple announced that they are working on a new version of the Remote app. The Apple TV Remote App for iPhone and iPad will get a redesigned now playing screen with playback controls and, most importantly, all the features of the Apple TV Siri Remote, including touch navigation, Siri and game play support (the app will use the accelerometer or gyroscope for game play).

During the keynote, Apple didn’t give any details on when the new version of the app will be released. CNET has today learned that the redesigned app will be available this summer:

The all-new Remote app will be available this summer, according to an Apple representative who spoke with CNET and filled us in on some of the details.

Apple’s spokesperson told CNET that the new app will feature a microphone button, just like the one on the Siri remote and will supports most of the Siri remote features.

That means you can speak into your phone to search Apple TV and use other Siri features like “What did he say?”

Like the current Remote app, the new version will have a large swiping area similar to the Siri remote’s touchpad for navigation and selection. It will also have a Now Playing window that shows artwork and playback controls.

And of course, there’s a keyboard for text entry, complete with dictation if you don’t feel like typing on your phone.

According to CNET, the new Apple TV Remote App will control both the new (2015) and the old (2012) Apple TV.

Learn more about everything Apple announced at WWDC 2016.

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Apart from pairing the Apple TV Siri Remote with your Mac to test Apple TV apps running in Xcode’s simulator, the remote is not of much use on the Mac. That’s where SiriMote, an awesome third-party app comes into play: it enables you to use the Apple TV Siri Remote with all sorts of applications.

Aside from controlling your Mac’s system volume, SiriMote lets you use Siri Remote to control:

• iTunes (Play/Pause, Fast Forward, Rewind, Next Track, Previous Track)
• Keynote (Next Slide, Previous Slide)
• QuickTime (Play/Pause, Fast Forward, Rewind)
• VLC (Play/Pause, Fast Forward, Rewind, Next Track, Previous Track)

You can also use it to controll any other application that react to the media keys on the Mac’s keyboard.

SiriMote translates remote buttons into media key presses of your Mac’s keyboard. For example, when you press Volume Up on the Siri Remote, the app will translate that into the Volume Up key on your keyboard and send it to the system.
Likewise, it translates the Play/Pause button on the Remote to the Play/Pause media key on your Mac’s keyboard and sends that to the system.

That enables your Remote to interact with any application that hooks into the media key event system.

SiriMote requires OS X El Capitan 10.11 or newer and a Mac with Bluetooth 4.0. 

The app is free and can be downloaded from the Eternal Storms Software website.

Be sure to follow Apple TV Hacks on Twitter, Facebook or Google+ for all the latest Apple TV-related news.

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Apple has today released tvOS 9.2 beta 6 to developers (build 13Y5232a). tvOS 9.2 is a major update that brings folders for grouping apps on the home screen, support for Bluetooth keyboards, new Siri languages and an updated app switcher UI to the 4th generation Apple TV.

The new firmware also adds complete support for iCloud Photo Library and Live Photos. With iCloud Photo Library support on Apple TV 4, users will be able to view their full collection of photos and videos synced with iCloud. Previously, Apple TV has only supported viewing iCloud Photo Sharing and My Photo Stream.

tvOS 9.2 will also bring voice dictation for search and username/password entry via the Siri remote.

Siri will have the ability to search the App Store for specific apps.

New features also include Siri support for US Spanish (in US only) and French Canadian (in Canada only) as well as Siri support for UK English, Australian English and US English available across the UK, Australian and US Storefronts when English is set as the system language.

tvOS 9.2 will support MapKit, allowing developers to implement maps into their tvOS apps.

An update for the Apple TV Remote firmware will add improved motion sensor performance and support for additional sound bar and receiver hardware.

The latest beta is only available for developers and it must be installed on Apple TV 4 via a USB-C cable.

Be sure to follow Apple TV Hacks on Twitter, Facebook or Google+ for all the latest Apple TV-related news.

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It appears that the time has come for the little black box to grow up and become a significant player in Apple’s ecosystem. Some reports even speculate that the Apple TV will be THE center of the Apple ecosystem in homes; connecting Internet of Things devices via HomeKit, showcasing iCloud & Photos content, playing games and eventually streaming broadcast television. While the iPhone 6s will undoubtedly take center stage at this Wednesday’s event, all signs point to the new Apple TV being the real star of the show.

First, the raw details that first leaked at 9to5Mac and have been quoted through out the web since. The device will run iOS 9 and include an updated remote, likely with an integrated touchpad and accelerometers for rough gesture based input.

The internal hardware will be significantly upgraded from the prior iteration with the inclusion of an A8 processor, 2GB of RAM, Bluetooth 4.2 and 802.11ac wireless capabilities resulting in a $149 price point. It appears the price may be tied to the internal storage space with several variants being considered, likely 8 and 16GB models.

While this will create a very formidable little box, the current rumor is that it will not support 4k video.

One of the biggest improvements with the new device is said to be the interface. While initially ‘clean and simple,’ the grid based icon layout of the current Apple TVs has become a sea of never ending icons and is far from pleasant to use. Frankly I have all but ditched mine as the speed to arrive at an application and then load it is easily surpassed by competitors such as the Roku 3.

Thankfully, iOS 9’s new Proactive Spotlight Search capabilities provide a handy tool for eliminating the need for endless icons. With so many options for streaming, the ability to ‘deep search’ into applications and immediately get to the content you want will be key for TVs of the future. This improved search along with upgraded Siri functionality is said to make the new Apple TV interface really shine.

In the past, this is where the updates would have stopped, a spec and UI bump. Sure there were people that had heard rumors or seen ‘Apple TV’ show up in Flurry results, but a true native App Store for the device never materialized… until now.

Finally, after many years of speculation, desire and even dedicated gamepad support in iOS, the new Apple TV version will have apps! Why now, why not years ago?  Only Mr. Cook knows the truth but I have several theories we can discuss over beers at WWDC next year.

What is most surprising to me is that until now, there has been NO visibility of this in the development tools. None. Apple isn’t about to release an App Store without apps, so what gives? This is complete speculation, but I believe this will be very similar to the iPad launch in that the new Apple TV will support much of the current App Store catalogue with few if any tweaks needed in the code base.

However, for those that have the resources, there will be a 30 day window in which to develop an Apple TV-‘optimized’ build of your application. Much like the iPad launch, these will get special billing in the store.

This actually brings me to one of my theories on the delay, I believe the remote was a big factor and this new remote enables the backward compatibility to fill the store from day one.

Either way, we will see for sure on Wednesday September 9th starting at 10am PST.

Rob Witman (@robwitman)

Read more about Apple TV 4: 

• Apple TV 4 specs and price revealed
• Apple TV 4: big focus on gaming and Siri, support for Bluetooth game controllers
• Apple TV 4 will cost $149-$199, available in October

Be sure to follow Apple TV Hacks on Twitter, Facebook or Google+ for all the latest Apple TV-related news.

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Here is how to enter the giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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How many times have you lost your tiny Apple TV remote? It’s countless, I know. At least now we have something to do about it. Chicago-based Tinsel & Timber has come up with one of the most elegant looking Apple TV holders we’ve ever seen.

Apple Tray, simply put, is a stand for your Apple TV and its remote. It is a rectangular piece of well-finished wood with two slots carved in for your device. The box fits in perfectly on the square slot and has a special track for your cables to flow out.

At the first glance, the remote seems to be embedded into the piece of log. With special groves for your fingers, it wouldn’t be so hard to pick it up either. Also the floor of the remote slot is finished with a felt of 100% Merino wool so that the aluminium doesn’t get scratched. You’ll also get four cork-feet for the tray, to keep it positioned.

The Apple Tray will cost you $49 and is available in different variants. The wood can be American Walnut (in pictures) or Maple, while the felt can be charcoal, salmon or cream in color.

You can buy the Apple Tray from their online store.

For every piece the company sells, a tree is planted through their partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation.

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