What you need to know
- A new patent points to three new types of game controller.
- A new folio controller could also double as a secondary display.
- Controllers would function with iPhones, iPads, and Apple TVs.
A new patent suggests that Apple is working on a new game controller for iPhone, iPad, and even Apple TV hardware.
The new patent, filed with the European Patent Office recently and spotted by Patently Apple, points to at least three potential game controllers being worked on. They would all be used in slightly different ways but would all allow people to more easily play games on their devices without the need for a third-party offering. In some cases, these controllers would also offer functionality others cannot.
One example of the controllers Apple could be working on is something similar to BackBone One, a controller that would house an iPhone. The gaming grip could also be used with an iPad, the patent suggests, while the setup does immediately remind me of the way Joycons attach to a Nintendo Switch.
Another example, and perhaps the most interesting, is one that would be more like a folio case than a traditional controller. In this example, the folio could act as a touchscreen game controller or secondary display.
As Patently Apple points out, the second display could be used for much more than gaming including FaceTime calls and more.
A second style of game controller relates to an iPhone gaming folio. Here Apple shares a number of concepts presented below that their engineering team have worked on. The part of the folio that will sit opposite to the iPhone display for game content, could actually be a full or partial secondary display that could provide users with messages about the game, like your gaming character is low in health, or that the user is receiving a text, email of FaceTime call from friends, family or business associates. It could also be used to accept other players wanting to join a multiplayer game.
The third option would be more akin to the traditional game controller, although it would have a switch that would allow gamers to enter text and more. This controller seems most likely to suit an Apple TV device, however. It's suggested that switch could also be used to answer phone calls and more, something the Apple TV hardware is currently incapable of doing — suggesting the controller would work with iPhones, too.
As is always the case, however, patents don't always turn into products. While an Apple-designed game controller would surely be the best iPhone option to date, it could be years off production — if it is indeed ever to be released at all.
