On April 11, Patently Apple reported that Apple has filed a patent in Europe and may be building gamepads for its own iPhone and iPad.
One patent is the traditional handle style. The patent is not a design patent, and the appearance of the finished product is likely to be quite different. The gamepad has a sliding switch that allows the user to launch game mode, messaging mode, and phone mode.
There's also a style a bit like the Nintendo 3DS, which may have a secondary screen in addition to the buttons on the left and right ends. The iPhone 13 Pro Max already weighs more than 200g, and placing the phone on such a handle base is likely to be top-heavy.
The game industry has a very large market, and it can also drive hardware sales. At the beginning of the release of the Nintendo Switch, its hardware quality was not outstanding, 7-inch 720P LCD screen, pixel density is not high, or not fully fitted screen. Even though Switch now has a Switch OLED version, its hardware configuration has not changed significantly. However, it is the world's best-selling console. In many regions, it sells more than the Sony PlayStation and Microsoft Xbox combined.
The Switch's success in sales is inseparable from Nintendo's series of excellent games. Apple is currently pushing its own Arcade games, and the future may also involve AAA games, etc., which may form a situation of Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, and Apple.
These gamepads aren't necessarily for iPhone/iPad, and Apple may also want to be a game console. On March 31, there were rumors that Apple would return to the console market. A whistleblower on the Clint forum said that the news in the supply chain in Taiwan has spread that Apple is considering returning to the game industry, and the company is conducting a feasibility study with the help of external consulting management personnel.
The whistleblower also revealed that Apple is also seeking exclusive cooperation advice from leading game companies, and both Capcom and Ubisoft are currently very interested, the former is also the developer of the well-known horror game "Resident Evil". Apple generally will be listed when the product is relatively mature, in the consumer accumulation of a lot of fans, if Apple really launched a game console, there should be a lot of fruit fans willing to pay.