Crestron Apple TV Remote UI Controls

The physical Apple TV remote UX is...interesting. With no D-Pad or really any intuitive indication of how to skip, go backwards, select an item on the right/left, it’s a classic case of Apple not knowing who they're designing for, prioritizing form over function (again...Magic Mouse?) and that’s pretty frustrating.

To help alleviate that issue for our Crestron UI project for our client, we designed a hybrid of the new Apple TV remote, with some tweaks. We removed the awkward trackpad-that-doesn’t-look-like-a-trackpad on the Apple remote and created a large surface area D-Pad that allows for both swipe, hold and tap gestures for ubiquitous usability. It’s a simple design fix that shows the user that they can swipe to give it an Apple TV 4K feel or they can use the legacy D-Pad hold/tap/press controls that users know and are familiar with. Instead of forcing users to figure out how to use it, we give them the tools to use it how *they* want to to use it.