Apple may not be the first name that comes to mind when it comes to gaming, yet it continues to show that its lineup of iPhones and iPads are a force to be reckoned with in the mobile space. With services likeApple Arcade consistently adding new gamesto its catalog, iPhone and iPad users are essentially spoiled for choice. Lately, Apple has also given more freedom to users in how they choose to play the game; either using the touchscreen controls or a dedicated controller, like Nintendo’s Joy-Cons for example.
Apple recently held its annual developer conference (WWDC 2022), and as usual, the event brought with it some new updates regarding Apple’s products and services. Chief among them is iOS 16, which will be the newest version of the operating system for the iPhones and iPads. iOS 16 will bring several exciting new features, like the ability toedit and unsend text messages in iMessage, or even more impressive, native support for both Nintendo Switch Pro and Joy-Con controllers.
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Developer Riley Testut discovered the update when he was testing the developer beta of iOS 16. He shared his findings on Twitter, complete with a screenshot showing the Switch Pro controller appearing in the Bluetooth settings menu of iOS 16. He confirmed that theSwitch Pro controllerworks perfectly with Delta, a video game emulator app he developed.
In a separate tweet, Testut also showed proof that iOS 16 supportsJoy-Con controllers, with both the left and right units appearing as a single Made for iPhone (MFi) controller in apps. Users of iPhones and iPads with iOS 16 will also be able to dynamically switch between using both Joy-Cons as a single controller, or two separate controllers by holding the screenshot and home buttons for a few seconds, as corroborated by Apple’s engineering manager Nat Brown, in a reply to Testut’s tweet.
The Joy-Con and Switch Pro controllers will join the ranks of official controllers made for other game consoles, namely the PS5 and Xbox Series X, that can be natively used as an input device in iPhones and iPads, asiOS had already supported both the DualSense and Xbox wireless controllersince last year. It will be interesting to see what developers will do to make their iPhone and iPad games take advantage of these controllers.
Switch users who are eager to tryusing Joy-Cons with their iPhones or iPadswon’t have to wait too long, as iOS 16 will be available as a public beta starting next month. A full release of iOS 16 is expected to come sometime this fall.
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