On the Apple TV 2021 4K's remote you can disable the touch and just use the buttons, like I have done. Works a treat.
Use your phone as the remote. I agree the ones they ship are dreadful.
The new one is great - your complaint is an old one.
Yep. But can we expect everyone to spend $$$ to upgrade their Apple TV boxes for this or can we be allowed to complain a little when we bought the old device for Christmas last year?
PS: I don't actually complain :-) I'm a recent convert and compared to Chromecast I find Apple TV a massive upgrade.
Just use the TV remote and hdmi cec.
The 2nd generation Siri remote adds click support back in again.