Function101 Offering Alternative Apple TV Remote Control for $30

Apple unveiled its ‌Siri‌ (or ‌Apple TV‌) Remote with touch surface in 2015 alongside the fourth-generation ‌Apple TV‌, and it's never been a particularly popular accessory.

101 Function Feature
Last year we saw Swiss telco Salt launch an alternative remote control for the Apple TV 4K set-top boxes that it includes in its domestic broadband TV bundle, and yesterday AppleInsider surfaced another potential alternative for anyone frustrated with Apple's native Remote.

Function101's "Button Remote for Apple TV" costs $30 and looks very similar to the Swiss model, but this one will be available in the U.S. later this month, providing another option for anyone watching one of the Salt models on eBay, where they sell at a hefty premium.

The Button Remote includes directional arrows in place of the Siri Remote's glass Touch surface, a power button in addition to a Menu button, along with separate volume and channel rockers and traditional media playback buttons. There's no Siri button included, however.

If that omission is a deal breaker but you can't live with Apple's own remote, you could always control your Apple TV using an iPhone or via your Apple Watch.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Where's the New Apple TV?

Monday December 22, 2025 11:30 am PST by
Apple hasn't updated the Apple TV 4K since 2022, and 2025 was supposed to be the year that we got a refresh. There were rumors suggesting Apple would release the new Apple TV before the end of 2025, but it looks like that's not going to happen now. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said several times across 2024 and 2025 that Apple would...
top stories 2025 12 20

Top Stories: iOS 26.3 Beta, Major Apple Leaks, and More

Saturday December 20, 2025 6:00 am PST by
You'd think things would be slowing down heading into the holidays, but this week saw a whirlwind of Apple leaks and rumors while Apple started its next cycle of betas following last week's release of iOS 26.2 and related updates. This week also saw the release of a new Apple Music integration with ChatGPT, so read on below for all the details on this week's biggest stories! Top Stories i...
iPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature Purple

iPhone 18 Pro Features Leaked in New Report, Including Under-Screen Face ID

Tuesday December 16, 2025 8:44 am PST by
Next year's iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max will be equipped with under-screen Face ID, and the front camera will be moved to the top-left corner of the screen, according to a new report from The Information's Wayne Ma and Qianer Liu. As a result of these changes, the report said the iPhone 18 Pro models will not have a pill-shaped Dynamic Island cutout at the top of the screen....
iOS 26

iOS 26.3 Brings AirPods-Like Pairing to Third-Party Devices in EU Under DMA

Monday December 22, 2025 3:20 pm PST by
The European Commission today praised the interoperability changes that Apple is introducing in iOS 26.3, once again crediting the Digital Markets Act (DMA) with bringing "new opportunities" to European users and developers. The Digital Markets Act requires Apple to provide third-party accessories with the same capabilities and access to device features that Apple's own products get. In iOS...
ios 18 security update

Don't Want to Upgrade to iOS 26? Here's How to Stay on iOS 18 [Update: Now Unavailable]

Friday December 19, 2025 10:37 am PST by
Since the beginning of December, Apple has been pushing iPhone users who opted to stay on iOS 18 to install iOS 26 instead. Apple started by making the iOS 18 upgrades less visible, and has now transitioned to making new iOS 18 updates unavailable on any device capable of running iOS 26. If you have an iPhone 11 or later, Apple is no longer offering new versions of iOS 18, even though there...
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Adds These 8 New Features to Your iPhone

Monday December 22, 2025 8:47 am PST by
Earlier this month, Apple released iOS 26.2, following more than a month of beta testing. It is a big update, with many new features and changes for iPhones. iOS 26.2 adds a Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics in Apple Music, and more. Below, we have highlighted a total of eight new features. Liquid Glass Slider on Lock Screen A new slider in the Lock...
iPhone Chips

Apple Clings to Samsung as RAM Prices Soar

Monday December 22, 2025 6:17 am PST by
Apple is significantly increasing its reliance on Samsung for iPhone memory as component prices surge, according to The Korea Economic Daily. Apple is said to be expanding the share of iPhone memory it sources from Samsung due to rapidly rising memory prices. The shift is expected to result in Samsung supplying roughly 60% to 70% of the low-power DRAM used in the iPhone 17, compared with a...
iPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature Purple

iPhone 18 Pro Launching Next Year With These 12 New Features

Tuesday December 23, 2025 8:36 am PST by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are not expected to launch for another nine months, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we have recapped 12 features rumored for the iPhone 18 Pro models. The same overall design is expected, with 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display sizes, and a "plateau" housing three rear cameras Under-screen Face ID Front camera in...

Top Rated Comments

mozumder Avatar
71 months ago
The Apple TV remote is honestly the worst invention Apple invented. Seriously bad user experience design. Too much overthinking, not enough practicality.

Hey Apple: Buttons were invented for a reason. USE THEM.

Also, the first immediate problem is the lack of any directionality in the ergonomics. You NEVER know if you're holding it upside down or not, until you actually look at it, because physically, it's just a flat rectangle.

A good remote should be able to let you know what you're doing with it without even looking at it.
Score: 40 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mikegoldnj Avatar
71 months ago
Seems like this is only IR control. That’s a deal breaker for me since my AppleTV is hidden behind my television.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
vidjahgamz Avatar
71 months ago
Well folks -- this may be an instant purchase for me. Great alternative for when my Apple TV remote drives me up a wall.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kornbeef24 Avatar
71 months ago
Useless without a CC button. It'd spend good money on a CC button, wife loves them and I can't stand them. Constantly getting toggled.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Joak1mA Avatar
71 months ago
This seems to be just the right occasion to say that I totally love the Siri Remote... :)
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ChromeAce Avatar
71 months ago
OR you could just do what every power user does... add the TV device control into your existing Logitech Harmony universal remote and customize any button you like.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)