Apple has spent more than a year developing its own game controllers and is likely to sell them under the Beats name rather than its main brand, according to Bloomberg News‘ Mark Gurman.
The project is being led by Beats executives on both product conception and engineering, Gurman reported in his Power On newsletter. Apple sees dedicated controllers as a growing market and wants a piece of it, after years of selling third-party options such as Backbone and SteelSeries devices through its own channels.
The effort follows code references that surfaced earlier this month in a macOS beta, pointing to two unreleased first-party controllers identified as T6502 and T1057. Those listings described conventional gamepad hardware, including a D-pad, dual analog thumbsticks, face buttons, shoulder buttons, analog triggers, and haptic motors. One model appears wired; the other is described as adding Bluetooth, motion sensors, and richer haptic feedback.
Gurman said the Beats label is a strategic fit. Apple has already used the subsidiary — acquired in 2014 — for iPhone cases, USB-C cables, and other accessories that sit below the materials, finishes, and prices associated with the Apple brand. A controller aimed at a broad audience would need to stay relatively affordable, which argues against the premium approach typical of Apple-branded hardware. The culture around gaming accessories also aligns more naturally with Beats than with Apple’s core lineup, he wrote.
No pricing, design details, or launch window have been disclosed. Existing Made for iPhone controllers and console pads from PlayStation and Xbox already work with Apple devices; a first-party option could still tighten the company’s grip on mobile and Apple TV gaming as more demanding titles arrive on iOS and Mac.
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I really like Apple’s approach to gaming. It hasn’t tried to come out with some slightly modified A or M series chip with 2 or 4 more graphic cores, make a console or larger Apple TV 4K for $399 and declare Apple a master gaming company now!
That would flop.
Rather, Apple has slowly been chipping away, introducing solutions to the market that are – again – just chipping at the edges and setting the stage so slow adoption rates, but hopefully steady. Metal was the first foundational move for Apple. Then ray tracing was a huge nod that it is investing and very serious about gaming.
Now, the HW. The A20 Pro with 7 newly designed graphic cores is impressive. I do wonder, would Apple be willing to shoot the moon and put this chipset in a higher-end version of the Apple TV 4K? Could they offer it for $199? Perhaps not with today’s memory prices, but maybe… And a controller for $199, or a bundle for $279…
For Apple TV 4K and not being a PS5 but more or less a non-painful upgrade for consumers to give it a shot without ripping out the wallet – they’ll save for for a PS or Xbox, this may be the way to go…
Missing piece? Apple has been stubborn about buying a high-level game, or developing their own with a small team to max out Metal and everything Apple can offer in-house, and make a kick butt Call-of-Duty or Assassin’s Creed, God of War level game. With a controller and A10 Pro, Apple CAN do that and SHOULD build a game like this and make – of course – included with Apple Arcade…
But they don’t do this. Huge missed opportunity.
Agreed. Without exclusives (remember Fantasian?) there’s little reason for anyone to subscribe to Apple Arcade. Apple has unlimited amounts of money, so hopefully with these controllers we’ll start to see some interested exclusives to play as well.