At WWDC 2016 Apple announced that it would finally be bringing the Siri remote to your iOS device via the Apple TV remote app.
The Siri remote isn't bad. Its simple design mixed with voice and motion control already puts it on a par with most TV remotes, but the fact is that all these features are already offered by your phone.
Crucially your phone also works as a keyboard, and although Apple's natural language voice control continues to evolve, the fact remains that the keyboard is still the most efficient way to access most content on the web.
Following in Google's footsteps
It's hard not to see an element of Chromecast in this move from Apple.
Google's Chromecast ultimately recognized that our smartphones already offer the most convenient way of searching for video content, but that the only thing it lacks is a screen big enough to be viewed with friends.
Google's solution to the problem was simple. Continue to use your phone to search for and access the content, but then add a single button to take this content to the big screen.
By bringing the Siri remote to iOS Apple appears to have come to the same conclusion, that no matter how simplistic the remote, a smartphone is simply more convenient, not to mention more intuitive to most people.
A separate Siri remote will likely continue to have its place when watching Apple TV as a group, but until Siri's natural language processing reaches a completely seamless point the smartphone will continue to be the ultimate TV remote.
- Read our full Apple TV review
