Why Do Remote Controls Have So Many Buttons No One Uses? The Poorly Designed Interface of the Remote Explained

Imagine lounging on the couch, eyes half-closed, wishing we could squeeze just a few more minutes of sleep before starting the day. You reach for the remote, but instead of finding the simple “power”, “volume” and “picture clarity” button, you’re faced with a annoyingly complicated array of 30 other buttons. What is all this for? Picture-in-picture? HDMI inputs? Color profiles? Who are these features even for—tech wizards who need to program their remotes like they’re operating a spaceship? Let's understand the poorly designed interface of remotes. Why Do Charging Cables Always Fray or Break at the Ends? Top Reasons That You Must Know. 

A Button for Every Possible Feature (That You’ll Never Use)

The truth behind this madness is that manufacturers just love options. It’s like they thought, "Hey, let’s throw in every possible button, just in case someone wants to adjust the tint of their screen at 2 a.m. while watching the latest action movie." Because nothing says “action-packed” like spending 10 minutes fiddling with the color settings, right?

Picture-in-picture? Cool feature, but unless you’re watching a football match and have to catch up on the latest news at the same time, it’s basically useless. And don’t even get me started on all the buttons for multiple inputs. You know, for that one moment every six months when you need to switch between HDMI 1 and HDMI 2. How hard is it to just use the one input we actually care about—Netflix? Why Does Watching Someone Else Yawn Make You Want To Yawn Too? Is It Contagious? Let’s Decode. 

Why Do Remote Controls Have So Many Buttons No One Uses?

So why do they keep adding buttons for features that no one uses? It's all about options. The more buttons they can squeeze in, the more they can boast about how “feature-packed” the remote is. But realistically, you’ll use only three buttons: power, volume, and mute. That’s it. And somehow, the mute button always seems to be the hardest to find, buried deep within the sea of unused options. Classic.

At the end of the day, we all know that the remote could just have five buttons and it would be perfect. Power, volume, channel change, mute, and maybe a "Netflix" shortcut for good measure. But no, we’ve got buttons for everything, and that’s the hilarious irony of modern remote controls. So next time you’re scrolling through your TV’s options and accidentally hit “Picture-In-Picture,” remember: it’s not you. It’s the remote, living out its fantasy of being the ultimate gadget.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 18, 2025 10:00 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).