Apple Redefines Remote Control ? Now, It?s Your Cellphone

Promotional Image from Apple.com.

There’s a lot to say about the new Apple TV that Steve Jobs presented today. But I’m not going to talk about the tiny little box. Instead, I’m going to talk about that remote.

Additional coverage of Apple’s event on Wired.com:

Hands-On With New Apple iPods

Hands-On With New $100 Apple TV

5 Reasons Why Apple TV Is (Still) Boring

Apple Takes Aim at Cable With Tiny New Apple TV

Sporty New iPods Tout Tiny Touchscreens, Retina Display

Apple Announces New Versions of iOS

Can You ‘Bip Bop’? Apple Wants to Know

Live Blog: Apple’s iPod, Music Event

Apple to Live Stream Press Conference ? to Apple Customers Only

Actually, there are two remotes. The first is the little, minimalist, metal slab that will ship with the Apple TV.

The first iteration of Apple TV had the same little white infrared remote the company used to ship with laptops. It was great for clicking through a slideshow presentation. It wasn’t very good to keep around your living room, unless you stuck it in a bowl with your keys. It wasn’t a real remote, and most people hated keeping track of another remote anyway, especially one that got lost at the drop of a hat.

The new remote, released earlier this year and shipping with the new Apple TV, isn’t a lot different from that old white remote. It’s a nicer device. Like everything else Apple makes now, it’s longer, and it’s aluminum. It’s still got just six buttons: up, down, right, left, play/pause and menu.

But that minimalism seems almost smarter now. Apple now seems to be figuring out the exact number of hardware buttons it needs on each device. It took away too much on the iPod Shuffle, so now some buttons are coming back. It wanted to get rid of the buttons on the Nano, so it changed it to touchscreen.

For the Apple TV, it’s keeping the action on the screen, with the software interface. Make that easy to navigate, give people the exact options they need depending on context, and you don’t need dozens of buttons on the remote/media player/phone.

Maybe you don’t even need a remote, though. That’s because Apple TV’s second remote control is the Apple-made mobile device that Apple TV customers probably already own.

Seriously — what are the chances of someone buying Apple TV who doesn’t have an iPod, iPad or iPhone?

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