Apple developing Beats-branded iPhone game controllers

Apple is developing two first-party game controllers for the iPhone, intended to be sold under its Beats brand, according to a report from Bloomberg. The project, which has been in development for over a year, aims to provide a dedicated hardware option for the growing mobile gaming market. The development was corroborated by code references discovered in the first release candidate of macOS 26.7. Two hardware profiles, identified as T6502 and T1057, were found in the operating system's code. These profiles described conventional gaming controls, including a directional pad, thumbsticks, shoulder buttons, and analog triggers, along with support for haptic feedback. One of the profiles, T1057, included a USB identifier belonging to Beats and supported Bluetooth, an accelerometer, and a gyroscope. Both controller profiles were subsequently removed from a later macOS build. This deletion could indicate efforts to maintain secrecy before a launch, the abandonment of prototypes, or the use of internal test equipment. The current status of the project remains ambiguous. Apple and Beats have not officially announced a game controller, price, or release date.