New Siri Remote's Precision Finding needs an iPhone 17 or newer

A catch in the new Siri Remote

A new Apple TV 4K goes on sale this Friday, and it arrives with an upgraded Siri Remote. According to 9to5 Mac, the remote's headline feature has a hardware catch: Precision Finding, which guides owners step by step to a lost remote, requires an iPhone 17 or newer.

The remote can also be bought separately for use with older Apple TV models. Buyers with older iPhones will still get some of the new features, but not the most useful one for anyone who regularly misplaces the controller.

What Precision Finding does

Precision Finding works much like the feature AirTag owners use in the Find My app. It gives guided, step-by-step directions that lead a person directly to the lost remote, rather than simply showing a rough location.

That is a clear step up from the older method of finding a Siri Remote, which 9to5 Mac describes as telling you little more than that the remote is somewhere in your house. Losing the remote is the most common complaint about the current design, and Apple has offered few tools to recover it.

Why older iPhones are left out

The limitation comes down to Bluetooth 6, a newer version of the wireless standard that the feature depends on. According to 9to5 Mac, that support is found in the iPhone 17 and 17 Pro models, excluding the iPhone 17e, as well as the iPhone Air, iPhone Duo and iPhone 18 Pro models.

Anyone without one of those phones cannot use Precision Finding at all. Apple has not been reported as offering any workaround for older devices.

What older Apple TV owners still get

The new Siri Remote works with every previous Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD model, so buyers do not need the newest set-top box to use it. The remote also includes a built-in speaker.

That speaker can be triggered from the Find My app to play a sound, which helps locate a remote hidden in a sofa or another room. It is a simpler tool than Precision Finding, but it works regardless of which iPhone the owner has.

What it means for buyers

For readers considering the new Apple TV 4K this week, or the remote on its own, the choice depends largely on their phone. Owners of a supported iPhone get the full finding experience, while everyone else gets the speaker-based sound alert only.

The details above come from 9to5 Mac's report of 10 November 2026. Pricing and availability of the remote and the new Apple TV 4K should be confirmed on Apple's own store before ordering.