Remember That Alternative Apple TV Remote? It's Now Available Through Deutsche Telekom

Back in November, Universal Electronics announced the launch of a third-party Apple TV Remote that was meant to be provided to cable, satellite, and MVPD customers. At the time, there was no word on which cable companies might offer the remote, but now it appears that it's available through T-Mobile parent company Deutsche Telekom.

dt apple tv remote
According to Universal Electronics, Deutsche Telekom will be providing the remote to German customers who subscribe to its MagentaTV service, which comes with an Apple TV 4K. Deutsche Telekom allows customers to get the ‌Apple TV‌ 4K as either a rental or purchase device to access the MagentaTV service.

Deutsche Telekom's website for MagentaTV says that the remote control was "developed for MagentaTV" and has been certified by Apple. The Bluetooth-enabled remote can be used to get directly to MagentaTV's content, and it offers similar functionality as Apple's own Siri Remote.

The MagentaTV button goes to the electronic content guide for the service, and there are dedicated channel up/down buttons for browsing. A ‌Siri‌ button activates ‌Siri‌ on the ‌Apple TV‌, and there are also buttons for controlling content playback.

Universal Electronics says that its remote features an ergonomic form factor with hard-capped keys for enhanced tactile feedback, along with an accelerometer and ambient light sensor to power backlit keys in low light environments. It includes Apple's Made for iPhone authentication chip to ensure secure connectivity to the ‌Apple TV‌.

There is no way to purchase the Universal Electronics remote on a standalone basis, though Universal Electronics does offer it to other cable providers. Spectrum offers a similar version of the remote, as does France's Free internet provider.

This is not the first time that an alternative ‌Apple TV‌ remote has been made available for cable customers. Swiss telco Salt in 2019 launched a third-party remote control option for the ‌Apple TV‌, for example.

Apple in April 2021 refreshed the Apple TV 4K and introduced a revamped version of the ‌Siri‌ Remote that's larger and thicker, with an aluminum body. The new version of the remote does away with the touch surface that was at the top of the prior remote and instead adopts a touch-enabled clickpad that has gesture support.

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Friday July 4, 2025 1:05 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are just over two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:Apple logo repositioned: Apple's logo may have a lower position on the back of the iPhone 17 Pro models, compared to previous...
iphone 16 pro models 1

Here's How the iPhone 17 Pro Max Will Compare to the iPhone 17 Pro

Saturday July 5, 2025 1:00 pm PDT by
Apple should unveil the iPhone 17 series in September, and there might be one bigger difference between the Pro and Pro Max models this year. As always, the Pro Max model will be larger than the Pro model:iPhone 17 Pro: 6.3-inch display iPhone 17 Pro Max: 6.9-inch displayGiven the Pro Max is physically larger than the Pro, it has more internal space, allowing for a larger battery and...
airpods pro 2

AirPods Pro 3 to Help Maintain Apple's Place in Earbud Market Amid Increasing Low-Cost Competition

Thursday July 3, 2025 7:25 am PDT by
Apple's position as the dominant force in the global true wireless stereo (TWS) earbud market is expected to continue through 2025, according to Counterpoint Research. The forecast outlines a 3% year-over-year increase in global TWS unit shipments for 2025, signaling a transition from rapid growth to a more mature phase for the category. While Apple is set to remain the leading brand by...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Max Battery Capacity Leaked

Thursday July 3, 2025 5:40 am PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature the biggest ever battery in an iPhone, according to the Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post, the leaker listed the battery capacities of the iPhone 11 Pro Max through to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and added that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature a battery capacity of 5,000mAh: iPhone 11 Pro Max: 3,969mAh iPhone 12 Pro Max: 3,687mAh...
Apple Watch Ultra Night Mode Screen

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Launching Later This Year With Two Key Upgrades

Wednesday July 2, 2025 1:13 pm PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be nearly over, and it is rumored to feature both satellite connectivity and 5G support. Apple Watch Ultra's existing Night Mode In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with "significant" new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you...
apple silicon mac lineup 2024 feature purple m5

Apple's Upcoming Macs Listed in New Report

Thursday July 3, 2025 9:09 am PDT by
AppleInsider's Marko Zivkovic today shared a list of alleged identifiers for future Mac models, which should roll out over the next year or so. The report does not reveal anything too surprising, but it does serve as further evidence that Apple is seemingly working on new models of every Mac, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro. Apple is...
Future M5 Chip Devices

M5 Chip Rumored to Debut in These Five Apple Products Later This Year

Friday July 4, 2025 9:14 am PDT by
Apple's next-generation M5 chip is expected to debut in five new products later this year, including the iPad Pro, Vision Pro, MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac. M5 chips will reportedly be manufactured with TSMC's latest third-generation 3nm process, which should result in slight performance and power efficiency improvements over M4 chips fabricated with its second-generation 3nm process. ...

Top Rated Comments

cloudphrenia Avatar
51 months ago
I'm just starting to like the new aTV remote, but I may have to pick this one up someday for that backlight. It is a shame Apple left that out.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kerr Avatar
51 months ago
Black is not the ideal color for a tv remote.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Juicy Box Avatar
51 months ago

Apple in April 2021 refreshed the Apple TV 4K ('https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/apple-tv/') and introduced a revamped version of the Siri Remote that's larger and thicker, with an aluminum body. The new version of the remote does away with the touch surface that was at the top of the prior remote and instead adopts a touch-enabled clickpad that has gesture support.
Too bad that many of the games on Apple Arcade won't work with the new remote since it lost some of the sensors that the original Siri Remote has.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Navyvet123 Avatar
15 months ago
This is on Amazon now: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074QRYNC3?ref=myi_title_dp

I just ordered on!
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jwt0001 Avatar
51 months ago
Isn’t this the one that Spectrum is selling to its customers that is specially programmed for their app?
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DanTSX Avatar
51 months ago
It looks better than the new hideous Apple TV remote
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)