The Apple TV 4K (2021) new Siri Remote is a lovely thing, and its new thicker design makes it much less likely to slip into some impossible crevice than the its predecessor. However, it's still pretty small and easy to misplace accidentally, and nothing can stop the bizarre hiding powers of a child or absent-minded adult. If only Apple knew someone who made thing-tracking technology!
Until or unless Apple decides to include its AirTag tracking technology in its remote, Elago (opens in new tab) has the next best thing: a silicone sleeve for your Remote that you can pop an AirTag into. It’s cheap – around $14.99 – and it’s tough too, protecting your remote from lumps and bumps without getting in the way of its functions. And because it makes the Remote bigger, it makes it less likely to get lost in the first place. Everybody wins, including Apple – because in addition to the case you’ll need to shell out for an AirTag to put in it.
The advantage of having an AirTag in it is that compatible iPhones (iPhone 11 or later) can literally point you in the direction of it, using ultra-wideband technology. An arrow appears on the screen and tells the direction and distance. Or you can just trigger the AirTag to make a noise, which will also help.
Is there a better example of first world problems than spending money on ultra-wideband technology to find the TV remote in your front room? Probably not: after all, one of those key clapper keyrings would do much the same thing, albeit without the ability to have an emoji engraved on it. But the more things that you can find via the Find My app, the more useful the service becomes.
We're finding Find My fantastic
I’m a recent convert to the smart tags cause: I bought my first AirTag after forgetting where I’d put my bag after staying in an unfamiliar place, and I’ve just ordered my second after a panicky half-hour search for a missing purse on an already difficult day. And as a parent of two Apple-toting children and the owner of a scatterbrain, I’ve found the Find My app invaluable for locating left-behind hardware such as iPads and iPod touches.
Other products such as Tile, TrackR and Samsung Galaxy Tags are brilliant too, but as someone heavily invested in the Apple ecosystem AirTags feel like the best solution for me. It just works, and all that.
It still feels faintly silly to be considering an AirTag for the Apple TV Remote, though. If Apple can fit its tracking tech into AirPods Pro and AirTags it can surely do the same with the Remote, which may be small but is much bigger than its trackable siblings. But then, I don't want to be suckered into buying another upgraded remote, so perhaps its best left alone for now.
