Siri Remote 2nd Generation

Announced April 20, 2021 alongside the redesigned Apple TV 4K, the Apple Siri Remote 2nd generation was a ground-up rethink after years of complaints about the original. 

The fragile glass touch surface was gone entirely, replaced with an all-aluminium body and a circular clickpad inspired by the old iPod click wheel, supporting both physical clicks and touch gestures, including a circular scrubbing motion to jog quickly through a video while it's paused. Buttons were rearranged too, with the Siri button moved to the side of the remote (out of the way of accidental presses), a dedicated power button added to turn a connected TV on or off, and proper volume buttons included for the first time, neither of which the original remote had at all.

The design also finally solved the upside-down problem that had plagued the first Siri Remote. Where the original was perfectly symmetrical and easy to pick up the wrong way round, this one has a distinct shape you can feel in the dark, so there's no longer any guessing which end does what. It also gained Bluetooth 5.0, an upgrade over the original's Bluetooth 4.0, for a steadier connection.

It sold separately for $59, the same price the original had dropped to by 2021, or came included free with a new Apple TV 4K purchase. Charging stayed on Lightning at launch, though Apple switched that to USB-C in a minor 2022 running change, otherwise identical to this design.