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.

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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)