The Apple TV Remote app receives a sneaky upgrade in iOS 27. Apple tucked away two new features inside the app’s redesigned interface, and they’re hiding in plain sight.
The changes first surfaced in the iOS 27 release candidate. One of them brings a full app launcher to the remote, while the other surfaces streaming recommendations on the remote screen.
Apple TV Remote app gets built-in app launcher in iOS 27
While the Apple TV stands out as a premium set-top streaming device, its physical remote has a bit of a troubled past. Various iterations have been reviled for being too slim, too fiddly and too easy to lose. It’s always been a classic case of Apple prioritizing minimalist design over obvious usability.
While Apple’s latest Siri Remote made things better, the Apple TV Remote app on iPhones and iPads offers a convenient alternative. Now, Apple’s apparently set on making the app better than ever.
The first change to the Apple TV Remote app lives in the top-right corner of the app’s interface, where you’ll see a glyph showing four small squares. Tap it, and a pop-up app menu appears.
The menu looks a lot like the Apple TV’s home screen. Here, you can choose and launch an app directly, without touching the Apple TV’s physical remote.
It’s a small change, but a useful one. Right now, switching apps on the Apple TV means you need to pick up the actual remote or back out of several screens. This shortcut skips all that.
A hidden gesture reveals your Top Shelf watchlist
The second addition sits in the Apple TV Remote app’s virtual trackpad. Drag a finger down from the top of it and you’ll see Apple TV’s Top Shelf carousel slide into view.
That carousel lists movies and TV shows from your watchlist along with anything you’ve already started viewing. This is the same content the Apple TV shows natively when you open a supported app, just on your iPhone screen.
Both features were demonstrated by X user pdfu. They currently remain hidden behind feature flags in the iOS 27 release candidate, meaning Apple hasn’t enabled them for the public yet.
It remains unclear if and when Apple will flip that switch. Hidden features like this in past betas sometimes remained dormant for months, although some shipped within weeks.
New Apple TV 4K on the way?
These interface changes in the Apple TV Remote app come along with a separate rumor about new hardware. Code found in macOS 26.7 hints at an upgraded Siri Remote shipping with the next-generation Apple TV 4K.
Apple, of course, hasn’t detailed what that upgrade brings. It’s possible these new features hint at how that redesigned remote will work. Rumors indicate Apple will unveil a new Apple TV 4K later this month or in October.
iOS 27 also restores an older convenience. Starting with this update, the virtual Apple TV Remote can be added directly to the iPhone’s Home Screen again. Previously, it only lived in the Control Center after Apple pulled it from the App Store in 2020.
Apple will roll out iOS 27 to all compatible iPhones on Monday, September 14. Anyone curious about the app launcher or the Top Shelf gesture can try the release candidate now.
