The Apple Remote 2.0 Is Here

Apple fans rejoice! Many Apple groupies have been waiting for this one for a long time, but here it is: the new Apple Remote 2.0 is now available at the Apple Store. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term, the Apple Remote is basically a remote control application designed specifically for using Apple products unhooked from a PC. The new version is optimized for the Retina Display on the iPhone 4 and iPod touch, as well as for the successful iPad, with its own interface.

Apple Remote is one of the most favored iOS applications. It is simple and easy to use and it does just what it says it does: remotely access your media libraries and play your songs or videos. However, it didn't work natively on the iPad, running in over-sized and blown-up pixelated iPhone mode, and it did not supported the new iPhone 4 and new iPod touch's Retina Displays. It needed an update badly, and now it finally has received one.

Apple Remote 2.0 on the iPad

The new version works without any flaws on the iPad and also, as aforementioned, works well on the Retina Display of the iPhone 4 and the new iPod Touch. On the iPad, it looks very much like the native iPod application, including the ability to create playlists remotely, as well as Genius playlists on the fly. When you do this, you can see the interface on the desktop iTunes changing automatically.

However, my only complaint is that you cannot drag and drop songs into playlists whenever you want, just like you can't do that in the native iPod application. There is no reason why Apple should not enable this feature, which would allow users to populate lists dynamically as they explore songs, instead of making them enter into edit mode and go through artists and songs.

Apple Remote 2.0 on the iPhone

The iPhone version's interface has been polished too, showing the Genius Mix option in the first tab. Otherwise, the user interface feels very similar to Remote 1.0. And that's good news in fact. As the old saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

The new version also supports the new Apple TV and Shared Libraries. As before, the app can remotely control either an iTunes library or an Apple TV, including creating playlists on iTunes or entering text on an Apple TV instead of using the on-TV keyboard. Those with AirPlay (AirTunes) speakers can also adjust the volume independently on different sources and disable individual sources.

Finally, the new Apple Remote 2.0 works flawlessly and looks pretty handsome. If you have an iPad, it feels like having a lean and fast version of iTunes on a touch screen. On the iPhone, it works like before, but looks much better. It is now available for free in Apple's app store.