This is indeed suggested by recent patents filed by Apple. If there is nothing concrete yet at this stage, purely experimental, these show in any case that the Apple brand is thinking about new ways to improve the gaming experience on mobile, with controller concepts attaching directly to the iPhone or iPad…
If there is one market that does not run out, on the contrary, it is that of video games. Witness the phenomenon around the PlayStation 5, the most coveted console of the moment, which has become just as rare since its launch in… 2020. And while the precious one recently reappeared in stock at SFR, the historical giants in the field do not are now more alone in wanting a piece of the pie. The proof, the Netflix platform has also started playing video games. Then let’s take this opportunity to remember that, on this side of the Atlantic, SFR offers no less than three video game options to its subscribers: SFR Gaming (platform on the box), SFR Unlimited Games and SFR Kids Récré (mobile applications) . But above all, another big name from Silicon Valley also seems to be more and more interested in it. I named: Apple.
First of all, remember that the Apple brand already offers its own subscription gaming service, Apple Arcade, which offers unlimited access to more than 200 games whether from an iPhone, an iPad, a Mac or even an Apple. TV. Now, it is rumored that the Californian giant could explore this market further. Because, if it is currently possible to pair an Xbox controller or PlayStation with devices flanked by the bitten apple, recent information indicates that the Cupertino company is considering offering its own game controllers. accessories…
These are recent patents, filed both in the United States and in Europe, which demonstrate that Apple is in any case working on the subject. Spotted by the specialized site Patently Apple, these reveal different projects, at the sketch stage for the moment, for homemade controllers compatible with the brand’s devices. First, a document registered on March 31 by the USTPO, the Office in charge of patents in the United States, presents several concepts of game accessories that attach by magnetism to an iPhone or iPad. These could take the form of a foldable case or controllers extending the mobile device, thus clinging to it anyway via the famous MagSafe technology of the American giant.
Controllers attached to the sides of the iPhone Joy-Con style?
But it is above all the European patent that reveals interesting ideas. Recorded on April 10, this one shows three types of more telling game accessories. The first is quite classic, it would be an accessory similar to traditional console controllers, which could connect via Bluetooth to an iPhone, iPad, Mac or Apple TV. With a small detail that would make the difference compared to the PlayStation or Xbox controllers already compatible with these devices: the presence of a switch that would allow you to switch from one mode to another, for example from the game to a phone call, or even the possibility of answering a text message or an email, with ease.
Then, the second concept presented in the European patent is reminiscent of a famous console, signed Nintendo this time: the Switch. Because what Apple offers are double controllers that would fit on the side of an iPhone or iPad, vertically or horizontally, like Joy-Con controllers. Finally, the third type of gaming accessory envisaged by the Apple brand takes, as in the American patent, the form of a foldable case. More specifically, it would be used on iPhone in the same way as a Smart or Magic Keyboard on iPad. Except that instead of the keyboard, there would be buttons on the sides and a small screen in the middle, which could serve as a secondary display and/or touch interface. Something to think of another legendary portable console from Nintendo…
Although all this, on paper, seems rather promising, it remains to be seen whether Apple will follow up on its ideas… Let us remember that, patents, the Tech giants file patents with a vengeance, but that all innovative concepts do not necessarily see the light of day. So business to follow.
Sources : Patently Apple, Frandroid, Jeuxvideo.com
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