Apple VP talks Apple TV 4K, commitment to future home audio products

Credit: Apple

Twerdahl, who serves as Apple's vice president of marketing for home and audio, recently spoke with Mobile Syrup to discuss the new Apple TV 4K with a redesigned Siri remote, which launched on Friday.

The Apple executive highlighted the capabilities of the HDMI 2.1 port on the Apple TV 4K. That includes the fact that it supports high-frame rate 4K HDR output and eARC integration, which allows for sound from TV sources to output to a HomePod.

Currently, eARC is only available on the discontinued HomePod, but Twerdahl maintained that Apple is committed to "making great audio products for the home" in the future.

He also covered the redesigned Siri Remote. Although some rumors suggested that Apple would add Find My support for the accessory, Twerdahl says that wasn't necessary because of the design changes made to the remote.

"With the changes we've made to the Siri Remote - including making it a bit thicker so it won't fall in your couch cushions as much - that need to have all these other network devices find it seems a bit lower," he said.

The redesigned remote also nixes both the accelerometer and the gyroscope, meaning that it can't be used as a game controller. Twerdahl says that's because Apple believes "a dedicated game controller is the best experience" for users wanting to play a game. Apple initially required all Apple TV games to support the Siri Remote, but that policy has since been changed.

As far as other new features on the remote, Twerdahl said they were a result of how people are using the device.

"We recognize that because a lot of people were moving to the Apple TV as the one box they have, having one remote that did it all in terms of powering up and down your system, would be important, so we wanted to add that as well," he said.

The remote, then, was designed to be comfortable to customers who are used to five-way controls or other traditional remote control setups.

"We knew that there was a lot of power in the swiping, but we thought that maybe something that delivered on the best of both worlds was a great way to enhance the experience of customers," he said.

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