Ken Segall Dislikes the Siri Remote
Ken Segall, a long-time adviser to Apple, has some harsh words for the Siri Remote bundled with the fourth-generation Apple TV. He likens it to the infamous “hockey puck” mouse included with the original iMac since both are overly symmetrical, pointing out that it’s difficult to know which way you’re holding the Siri Remote, especially in a dim room. He also criticizes its touchpad for being both too easy to engage accidentally and not as accurate as traditional directional buttons. However, Segall hopes that, as with the iMac mouse, Apple eventually sees the error of its ways and redesigns the Siri Remote.
I would have to agree with him. it is difficult to navigate vertically or horizontally. Just picking it up, being very careful to only touch the sides invariably causes whats playing to forward or rewind. It is exceedingly difficult to know which way it's oriented if your'e not actually looking at it. The Gen 3 remote was superior in many ways but for a mature male of the species they are both too blasted small! It also totally ignores the needs of the handicapped, my wife cannot use it at all! When the remote gets in the way of using the device, Cupertino, you have a problem!
I actually have programmed my DISH remote to handle as many functions as possible and it is my preferred interface, but it can only do IR and leaves a lot of Apple TV capabilities on the floor so to speak.
I have to agree with Ken Segall. Regarding "it’s difficult to know which way you’re holding the Siri Remote, especially in a dim room," I've found that SIKAI has a case that slips over the Siri Remote, and solves both these problems. See https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018JXPHS4
I also agree that it is "both too easy to engage accidentally and not as accurate as traditional directional buttons." This is a major pain!