Function101 Offering Alternative Apple TV Remote Control for $30 - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

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

General visionOS watchOS and tvOS Betas Feature Redux

Apple Releases Third watchOS 26.6, tvOS 26.6 and visionOS 26.6 Betas

Monday June 29, 2026 10:08 am PDT by
Apple today provided developers with the third betas of upcoming watchOS 26.6, tvOS 26.6, and visionOS 26.6 betas for testing purposes. The software comes two weeks after Apple seeded the second betas. The software updates are available through the Settings app on each device, and because these are developer betas, a free developer account is required. There's no word on what's in the...
Apple TV 2025 Thumb 2 Sans Text

iOS 27 Lets You Update Your Apple TV Using Your iPhone

Tuesday June 23, 2026 9:09 am PDT by
If the idea of digging out your Siri Remote to install a tvOS update on your Apple TV sounds like too much effort, Apple's upcoming iOS 27 software will have a new feature you'll surely welcome. Based on the latest iOS 27 beta 2, you can push Apple TV software updates straight from your iPhone, and you don't even need to turn the Apple TV on first. Apple's set-top box now appears in the...
Chase Sapphire Reserve Apple Perk Feature

Chase Sapphire Credit Cards Offering New Apple TV and Apple One Perks

Wednesday June 24, 2026 7:00 am PDT by
Chase recently introduced new Apple TV and Apple One perks for its Sapphire Preferred and Sapphire Reserve credit cards in the United States. Sapphire Preferred cardholders ($95 annual fee) are now eligible to receive a complimentary one-year Apple TV streaming subscription, or a $7.50/month discount on an active Apple One subscription for 12 months instead. Sapphire Reserve cardholders...

Top Rated Comments

78 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)
78 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
78 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)
78 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)
78 months ago
This seems to be just the right occasion to say that I totally love the Siri Remote... :)
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
78 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)