Will the new Siri Remote work with older Apple TVs?

As we pointed out a few weeks ago, it was time for the Apple TV remote to die. The old remote was unintuitive for the average user with the heavy reliance on touch area gestures rather than actual buttons, and it was too easy to lose because of the small and thin design.

The new Siri Remote changes all of that. It now features an innovative new clickpad control that has five-way navigation for better accuracy. However, if you prefer the touch-enabled gestures from the previous version of the remote, those are still available in the outer ring of the clickpad. Swiping on this outer ring also turns it into a jog control, making it even easier and faster to scrub through video and find the scene you want.

Another big change is what the Siri Remote body is made out of. It is now a one-piece aluminum design that features high contrast buttons — this makes it easy to tell what you're pressing or swiping on.

One of the new Siri Remote's biggest new draws is that it can now be used as the single remote for your entire television set, not just the best Apple TV. There is a power button that will turn your television on and off, and a mute button turns off all audio for the television when needed.

A button on the side is for activating Siri voice control. With this, you can ask Siri for the weather, sports scores, control your HomeKit accessories, and more, right from your TV.

The Siri Remote will be available to purchase separately from the new Apple TV 4K starting on April 30. It will cost just $59.

If you're interested in getting a new Apple TV 4K as well, those will be available to pre-order starting April 30 and will launch in the second half of May.