Apple just came out with a new Apple TV remote with integrated Touch ID, which utilizes fingerprint sensors to authorize and block users. In addition to TV-centric capabilities, the new remote offers the ability to enter a channel without punching in a password and to allow authorized people to make iTunes purchases. What makes this TV remote truly different is its ability to control in-home electronics. Over the years, rumors have been rife that Apple’s end game for Apple TV was as a home automation hub.

According to Patently Apple, the new invention will feature a fingerprint sensor and be able to compare fingerprints against template fingerprints stored within the remote to authenticate individuals as authorized users and bar unauthorized users from certain features of the remote.

“For example, a parent may be an authorized user of a television remote such that when the parent handles the remote and aligns a finger with a fingerprint sensor, the remote may determine that the parent is an authorized user,” explains Patently Apple. Once authorized, the user may be able to access some features of the television without again being prompted for a security code.

Apple also reports that the remote will be able to control an array of other electronic devices in the home, including “thermostats, air conditioners, heaters, fans, kitchen appliances, home automation controllers, security systems, vehicles and more.”