Apple has reportedly been working on its own gaming controllers for the iPhone for more than a year, and surprisingly, they might not even carry the Apple name. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the hardware is being developed under the Beats brand, with Beats executives handling both engineering and product design.
The story builds on code found in a macOS 26.7 release candidate earlier this month, which referenced two unannounced devices identified as T6502 and T1057. Both appear to be conventional gamepads with a D-pad, dual analog sticks, shoulder buttons, and analog triggers. The T1057 reportedly adds an accelerometer and gyroscope for motion controls, while the T6502 does not, suggesting it might be the simpler, possibly wired option of the two.
Gurman says Apple has increasingly leaned on Beats to test unfamiliar product categories without risking the more premium Apple brand. Beats already sells cheaper accessories like USB-C cables and iPhone cases, and a controller would likely follow that pricing logic rather than Apple's usual materials and finish. There's no word yet on pricing or a release window.
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How would the T1057's motion controls work in iPhone games compared with the simpler T6502?
Would either of the rumored Beats gamepads connect wirelessly or through USB-C?
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Apple already sells third-party controllers like the Backbone One and SteelSeries Nimbus+ through its own store, so this would mark its first real push into building the hardware itself. It's worth noting Apple has floated the idea of a controller before, going back to reports as far as 2012, without anything actually shipping. It's hard to say if this time they will actually go through with it, but the multi-year development timeline and the code references at least suggest this attempt has gone further than past rumors.
