Beats Might Be Building Apple’s First iPhone Game Controllers
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Following new evidence uncovered last week that Apple was developing its own game controllers, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has weighed in, corroborating the findings while adding some additional interesting context.
While rumors of Apple exploring gaming controller hardware have been circulating for years, the company has generally seemed content to simply embrace the established collection of controllers already available from heavyweights like Microsoft and Sony. Apple began supporting PS4 and Xbox controllers in 2019, and over the years has added PS5 controllers and more advanced Microsoft controllers to its list.
The rumor mill has been pretty quiet regarding first-party controllers over the past few years, but the notion got new legs last week when code findings showed two mystery game controllers referenced in the macOS 26.7 release candidate — a beta software release that was full of references that shouldn’t have been there, and were in fact later pulled in a second RC build.
While initial speculation tied these code references to an unreleased Apple TV 4K, Gurman suggests that Apple is actually working on a pair of iPhone gaming controllers — and that it’s likely to sell them under its Beats brand.
Gurman lays this out in his latest Power On newsletter:
Here’s what I know: The company has indeed been working on gaming controllers for the iPhone for a bit over a year, with the goal of competing with a slew of popular third-party options. Apple sees this as a growing market and wants in.
He doesn’t have much more to say about the controllers themselves, other than that he’s “consistently heard” that they’re “destined to launch under Apple’s Beats brand” and are being led by that team.
The theory here is that Apple will use Beats as a way to “experiment” with the category with less risk. However, if Beats headphones are any indication, it’s possible it might also have a broader target market in mind for the controllers.
For example, while Apple’s AirPods are almost exclusively geared toward the iPhone and other Apple devices, Beats Headphones have become so platform-agnostic that Apple dropped its H-series wireless chips from them entirely, relying on unnamed custom silicon that could pair just as seamlessly with an Android device as with an iPhone or iPad.
Last year’s Powerbeats Fit saw a return to the H1 chip, while the early 2025 Powerbeats Pro 2 moved to the H2 chip — the same one that’s found in Apple’s AirPods Pro 3 and AirPods 5. However, the Powerbeats earbuds appear to remain the exception, as the Beats Studio Buds+, Beats Studio Pro, Beats Solo 4, and Beats Solo Buds all use the custom Beats silicon instead.
Still, Apple also sells iPhone cases through the Beats brand, so it’s not always about platform-neutrality. However, most smartphone game controllers tend to have broader compatibility by default, and the code references found last week point to two different controllers, codenamed T6502 and T1057.
Both appear to feature USB-C connectivity alongside standard console inputs like a D-pad, dual thumbsticks, shoulder buttons, and triggers. The higher-end T1057 model adds Bluetooth support along with an accelerometer and gyroscope for motion controls.
There’s no word on when Apple will launch these, but if they’re coming through Beats, they’re likely to appear with relatively little fanfare, and will probably be priced more affordably once they do show up.
