Apple Siri Remote now USB-C, as death knell tolls for Lightning

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited October 2022
The Siri Remote has gained a USB-C port alongside the Apple TV 4K upgrade, signaling the beginning of Apple's departure from Lightning.

Siri Remote now uses USB-C
Siri Remote now uses USB-C


In addition to USB-C on the entry-level iPad, Apple snuck in a small but significant update to the Siri Remote during its Tuesday press releases. That Siri Remote now also uses a USB-C port for charging rather than Lightning.

There wasn't any reason provided for the change, but rumors suggest Apple will move away from Lightning across all of its products soon. Even the "iPhone 15" due in late 2023 may have USB-C instead of Lightning.

The Siri Remote was among the several holdouts still using the charging technology. Surprisingly, Apple updated the AirPods Pro in September and included Lightning in the Charging Case.

It is clear that the company is in a port transition, and will likely update more products with the universal port with each new release. No other changes were made to the Siri Remote, and it still does not support Find My.

The updated Siri Remote ships with either model of the new Apple TV 4K on November 4. It can also be ordered separately for $59 and will be available starting October 21.

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 21
    Stabitha_ChristieStabitha_Christie Posts: 439member
    PatchyThePirateV.3 said:
    Looks like apple might be eating crow on this after all, after saying lightening was the last iPhone port. They’re in a damned if you do damned if you don’t situation right now; usb-c makes sense, especially with government regulation overreach, but I remember people were completely freaking out when they switched to the lightening port, to a strange degree. 

    I’m looking forward to the day when we get a slimmer, sleeker phone that’s fully wireless. 
    When did Apple say Lightening would be the last iPhone port?
    stompygregoriusmwatto_cobraAlex1N
  • Reply 2 of 21
    JapheyJaphey Posts: 1,767member
    We shouldn’t have to plug the remote in, at all. At this point, in 2022, the Siri Remote should support wireless charging. Period. 
    kiehtanSpitbathJaiOh81Alex1N
  • Reply 3 of 21
    payecopayeco Posts: 581member
    Looks like apple might be eating crow on this after all, after saying lightening was the last iPhone port. They’re in a damned if you do damned if you don’t situation right now; usb-c makes sense, especially with government regulation overreach, but I remember people were completely freaking out when they switched to the lightening port, to a strange degree. 

    I’m looking forward to the day when we get a slimmer, sleeker phone that’s fully wireless. 
    Apple never said this. Go back and rewatch the keynote where they introduced it. They said Lightning was the connector for the next decade. It’s been a decade since it was released. Sounds to me like it’s being replaced right on schedule. 

    hmlongcostompywelshdoggregoriusmPatchyThePirateV.3watto_cobrasuddenly newtoncurtis hannahAlex1N
  • Reply 4 of 21
    hmlongcohmlongco Posts: 537member
    Japhey said:
    We shouldn’t have to plug the remote in, at all. At this point, in 2022, the Siri Remote should support wireless charging. Period. 
    Not sure how they'ed do that without a big redesign. That aluminum enclosure pretty much eliminates wireless charging.
    watto_cobramuthuk_vanalingamcurtis hannahAlex1N
  • Reply 5 of 21
    MustSeeUHDTVMustSeeUHDTV Posts: 304member
    Japhey said:
    We shouldn’t have to plug the remote in, at all. At this point, in 2022, the Siri Remote should support wireless charging. Period. 
    Agreed. Unless that is the way to get the firmware update. My remote still has not been updated to the latest version.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 21
    bjmediabjmedia Posts: 1member
    I feel Apple should offer exchanges for the Lightning remotes to the USB-C versions. 
  • Reply 7 of 21
    wonkothesanewonkothesane Posts: 1,724member
    Still no U1 chip in the remote. Bummer.
    Any good reason to upgrade from the previous 4K version?
    fastasleepkiehtanwatto_cobracurtis hannahAlex1N
  • Reply 8 of 21
    entropysentropys Posts: 4,166member
    Not so much to upgrade, but if you want an ATV, (eg your Tv is old, or you want an extra ATV), the only reason to get the old model would be a steep discount.
    Alex1N
  • Reply 9 of 21
    thttht Posts: 5,443member
    PatchyThePirateV.3 said:
    payeco said:
    Looks like apple might be eating crow on this after all, after saying lightening was the last iPhone port. They’re in a damned if you do damned if you don’t situation right now; usb-c makes sense, especially with government regulation overreach, but I remember people were completely freaking out when they switched to the lightening port, to a strange degree. 

    I’m looking forward to the day when we get a slimmer, sleeker phone that’s fully wireless. 
    Apple never said this. Go back and rewatch the keynote where they introduced it. They said Lightning was the connector for the next decade. It’s been a decade since it was released. Sounds to me like it’s being replaced right on schedule. 

    Ah, my mistake then. Thanks for the correction. 

    Either way, it’s still going to be annoying listening to people freak out and whine about it. Hopefully I’ll be pleasantly surprised and it will be better this time. 
    You are getting your hopes too high Mr Pirate. It's the Internet. It's designed to find as much controversy as possible and have it imprinted in your brain. Even if Apple puts gold coins in the box, the Internet will find the person complaining about something and will shove it in your face.
    watto_cobraAlex1N
  • Reply 10 of 21
    JapheyJaphey Posts: 1,767member
    hmlongco said:
    Japhey said:
    We shouldn’t have to plug the remote in, at all. At this point, in 2022, the Siri Remote should support wireless charging. Period. 
    Not sure how they'ed do that without a big redesign. That aluminum enclosure pretty much eliminates wireless charging.
    It’s a good thing you don’t work for Apple, I guess. 
    SpitbathAlex1N
  • Reply 11 of 21
    SpitbathSpitbath Posts: 91member
    Stabitha_Christie said:
    PatchyThePirateV.3 said:
    Looks like apple might be eating crow on this after all, after saying lightening was the last iPhone port. They’re in a damned if you do damned if you don’t situation right now; usb-c makes sense, especially with government regulation overreach, but I remember people were completely freaking out when they switched to the lightening port, to a strange degree. 

    I’m looking forward to the day when we get a slimmer, sleeker phone that’s fully wireless. 
    When did Apple say Lightening would be the last iPhone port?
    When did Lightning get an "E" in it?
    watto_cobraAlex1N
  • Reply 12 of 21
    SpitbathSpitbath Posts: 91member
    hmlongco said:
    Japhey said:
    We shouldn’t have to plug the remote in, at all. At this point, in 2022, the Siri Remote should support wireless charging. Period. 
    Not sure how they'ed do that without a big redesign. That aluminum enclosure pretty much eliminates wireless charging.
    Did Japhey say it needed to be wirelesss AND aluminium?
    watto_cobraJapheyAlex1N
  • Reply 13 of 21
    mercivicmercivic Posts: 21member
    While not a huge fan of government regulation driving change in technology products, this seems like a positive move forward. The downside is what happens when USB-C becomes long in the tooth. Does the government say everyone has to change to a new connector? Do they do this before the new connector is ready (unlikely) or slow down innovation by allowing the change at a slower rate?

    Do they plan on releasing the 1st gen. ATV 4K remote with a USB-C port? As a relatively new ATV owner my biggest disappointment is the lack of compatibility of games with the 2nd gen. ATV 4K remote. If Apple could do something about this, it would make this a much better product.
    edited October 2022 Alex1N
  • Reply 14 of 21
    HedwareHedware Posts: 87member
    Apple was obviously waiting for the Europeans to mandate USB-C for mobile devices. Apple is obviously on the side of the socialists and communists. 
  • Reply 15 of 21
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    Hedware said:
    Apple was obviously waiting for the Europeans to mandate USB-C for mobile devices. Apple is obviously on the side of the socialists and communists. 
      :D
    muthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 16 of 21
    thttht Posts: 5,443member
    mercivic said:
    While not a huge fan of government regulation driving change in technology products, this seems like a positive move forward. The downside is what happens when USB-C becomes long in the tooth. Does the government say everyone has to change to a new connector? Do they do this before the new connector is ready (unlikely) or slow down innovation by allowing the change at a slower rate?

    Do they plan on releasing the 1st gen. ATV 4K remote with a USB-C port? As a relatively new ATV owner my biggest disappointment is the lack of compatibility of games with the 2nd gen. ATV 4K remote. If Apple could do something about this, it would make this a much better product.
    USBC is going to have a longer lifecycle than USBA. USBA is about 25 years old, and it basically will have another 25 years of exponential decline as USBC replaces it. Just look at the USBA ports installed in airplanes, today. Those airplanes will be flying for another 50 years. They might retrofit to USBC in another 10 years? 15 years? It isn't going to happen quickly.

    So, USBC is going to be around well into the next century, minimally as a lower power port, low data rate port. The protocol has pathways to 80 Gbit/s and 120 Gbit/s, and 240 W power is already in production. It will take several hardware cycles for laptops to standardize. It will take perhaps decades for the wall outlet and gadget makers to change, but they will, to make it something we assume every gadget will have.

    Don't understand your 2nd question. If you want the Siri Remote with USBC, Apple will sell that to you once they have their volume production in order. It's Bluetooth and will work with the Apple TV model you have. But, there really isn't any reason to do that. As for gaming content on the Apple TV, well, that's a structural problem at Apple. They don't think of themselves as a games company, and don't want to push. They just want to have "enough". If they were serious, they would become a games publisher and buy some studios.
    Alex1N
  • Reply 17 of 21
    hmlongcohmlongco Posts: 537member
    Spitbath said:
    hmlongco said:
    Japhey said:
    We shouldn’t have to plug the remote in, at all. At this point, in 2022, the Siri Remote should support wireless charging. Period. 
    Not sure how they'ed do that without a big redesign. That aluminum enclosure pretty much eliminates wireless charging.
    Did Japhey say it needed to be wirelesss AND aluminium?
    And which part of "without a big redesign" was unclear?
    Alex1N
  • Reply 18 of 21
    SpitbathSpitbath Posts: 91member
    hmlongco said:
    Spitbath said:
    hmlongco said:
    Japhey said:
    We shouldn’t have to plug the remote in, at all. At this point, in 2022, the Siri Remote should support wireless charging. Period. 
    Not sure how they'ed do that without a big redesign. That aluminum enclosure pretty much eliminates wireless charging.
    Did Japhey say it needed to be wirelesss AND aluminium?
    And which part of "without a big redesign" was unclear?
    And which part of "in 2022, the Siri Remote should..." didn't imply that a big redesign was necessary?
  • Reply 19 of 21
    beowulfschmidtbeowulfschmidt Posts: 2,132member
    Japhey said:
    We shouldn’t have to plug the remote in, at all. At this point, in 2022, the Siri Remote should support wireless charging. Period. 

    You still have to plug in the "wireless" charger.  And you still need to have a wire running from the wall to the charger itself.
    Alex1N
  • Reply 20 of 21
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    Spitbath said:
    hmlongco said:
    Spitbath said:
    hmlongco said:
    Japhey said:
    We shouldn’t have to plug the remote in, at all. At this point, in 2022, the Siri Remote should support wireless charging. Period. 
    Not sure how they'ed do that without a big redesign. That aluminum enclosure pretty much eliminates wireless charging.
    Did Japhey say it needed to be wirelesss AND aluminium?
    And which part of "without a big redesign" was unclear?
    And which part of "in 2022, the Siri Remote should..." didn't imply that a big redesign was necessary?
    Jfc, quit picking a fight over nothing.  
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