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Comment by addicted | Hacker News Reader

Using a real remote (Apple remotes don’t count) is so much better. There are some things a smartphone is better for, such as entering in passwords. But for regular usage there’s no comparison.

Besides, if I just wanted to use my smartphone I would simply stick to my chrome cast devices. If I’m gonna be using the phone to control my entertainment center then the chrome cast provides by far the best interface because you have access to the entire app.

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I forgot all about text inputs! With the actual remote, You have to fumble with that letter-at-a-time selector. I’m even more surprised anyone bothers with the physical remote.

I use actual remote for normal use, and iphone whenever I have to edit text. Seems like the best of both worlds?

To be clear I use my TVs remote with HDMI CEC, not that insane apple remote.

You can use a physical remote without looking at it and that's very hard to do with a smartphone. You also have to constantly unlock it to get back to the remote app if it shuts down. I love the Roku remote, it works so well and the physical buttons are very satisfying.

You can put it on your slidey down screen (where flashlight and sleep etc live) and then it’s swipe down, touch - no unlock necessary

Actually it goes straight back to the Apple TV remote without having to unlock. Not sure what the time limit is but it works after the device has gone to sleep and otherwise locked itself.

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