iOS 27 brings Apple TV remote back to iPhone home screen

At a glance:

• iOS 27 lets users add the virtual Apple TV remote to the iPhone home screen again, not just Control Center
• The standalone Apple TV Remote app was removed from the App Store in 2020
• Access the remote via search or App Library, then drag it to any home screen page

How the home screen remote works in iOS 27

With iOS 27, Apple has restored a convenient way to launch the virtual Apple TV remote directly from the iPhone home screen. Users can swipe down on the home screen to invoke search, type "remote," then tap and hold the Remote app icon and drag it to a preferred home screen page. The remote also lives in the App Library under the Utilities folder, offering a second discovery path. This change eliminates the extra step of opening Control Center every time you want to control an Apple TV, a friction point that existed since the standalone app's removal.

The implementation mirrors how other system utilities like Calculator or Voice Memos behave — they are not full App Store apps but system-level tools that can be pinned to the home screen. The remote retains all its existing functionality: navigation via touchpad or directional buttons, playback controls, Siri voice input, and keyboard text entry. Because it is a system component, it updates automatically with iOS and does not require a separate App Store download, ensuring consistency across devices running iOS 27 or later.

History of the Apple TV remote on iPhone

Apple originally shipped a dedicated Apple TV Remote app on the App Store, allowing iPhone and iPad users to control second- and third-generation Apple TV hardware. That app was removed in 2020 alongside the launch of iOS 14, which integrated the remote directly into Control Center. The move was framed as simplification — one less app to manage — but many users complained about the added swipe-and-tap steps to reach the remote, especially in dark rooms or when juggling a physical remote.

For four major iOS releases, the remote remained exclusive to Control Center, accessible only by swiping down from the top-right corner (on Face ID iPhones) or up from the bottom (on Touch ID models). Third-party apps attempted to fill the gap with widgets and shortcuts, but none matched the native integration's reliability. The iOS 27 reversal signals Apple's responsiveness to long-standing user feedback and aligns with a broader trend in iOS 27 of surfacing frequently used system tools — like the new customizable lock screen shortcuts and expanded Action Button options on iPhone 16 Pro models.

TvOS 27 adds larger text accessibility feature

Alongside the iOS 27 remote change, Apple previewed a new "Larger Text" accessibility feature for tvOS 27. This allows users to increase on-screen text size across supported apps, matching the Dynamic Type scaling already available on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Vision Pro. The setting lives in Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size and applies system-wide to Apple's own apps and any third-party apps that adopt the standard tvOS text APIs.

The feature addresses a common complaint from viewers who sit farther from their TV than from a phone or tablet. By leveraging the same text-scaling engine used across Apple's platforms, developers who already support Dynamic Type on iOS will see their tvOS apps adapt automatically with minimal work. Apple highlighted the update as part of its annual accessibility preview, which also included new voice control enhancements for Vision Pro and improved Braille display support on iPadOS 27.

New Apple TV 4K and HomePod mini hardware reportedly ready

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports that updated Apple TV 4K and HomePod mini models have been "nearly ready to go" for months but are being held back until Apple's more personalized Siri — internally codenamed "LLM Siri" — is ready for prime time. The next Apple TV 4K is expected to feature a faster processor, possibly the A17 Pro or M-series chip, to handle on-device machine learning for the new Siri architecture. The HomePod mini refresh may add Thread border router improvements and updated wireless radios.

Gurman notes that the hardware itself is finished; the delay is purely software-driven. Apple wants the new Siri experience — which promises contextual awareness, multi-turn conversations, and deeper app integration — to be the headline feature at launch. This strategy mirrors the original HomePod launch, which waited for SiriKit maturity. If the timeline holds, both devices could debut alongside iOS 27 and tvOS 27 in the fall, making the home screen remote return a timely companion feature for new Apple TV owners.

What to watch next

The iOS 27 home screen remote is currently in developer beta, with a public beta expected in July and a final release alongside the iPhone 17 lineup in September. Developers testing tvOS 27 can already evaluate Larger Text adoption in their apps. Meanwhile, the rumored Apple TV 4K and HomePod mini hardware remains unannounced; any official word will likely come at a fall event or via press release. For users, the immediate takeaway is that the most requested Apple TV remote improvement since 2020 is finally shipping — no new hardware required.