Gaming on the iPhone is about to get another boost. The upcoming major update to the iPhone operating system, iOS 16, is expected to natively support the Nintendo Switch Joy-Con and Switch Pro Controllers.
This was discovered by iOS developer Riley Testut, who also confirmed in a series of tweets that iOS 16 can support a single Joy-Con as well. Users can dynamically switch between using both controllers as a unit or as two separate controllers by pressing the screenshot and home buttons for a few seconds.
After pairing, the controls can be customised in the Bluetooth settings.
Nat Brown, an Apple engineering manager, has also confirmed that more game controllers are supported in the betas of iOS, iPadOS, tvOS and macOS.
According to 9to5Mac, the support for third-party controllers in iOS 16 is based on ‘mobile assets’, meaning more controllers can be added in the future without having to ship a new version of iOS.
It also managed to get the iOS 16 beta to work with other controllers such as 8Bitdo, BADA MOGA XP5-X Plus, and the Logitech F710 Gamepad.
This means that with iOS 16, iPhone users are no longer limited to the PlayStation and Xbox controllers, which had been supported since iOS 14.5 update; time to welcome not only the Nintendo Switch Joy-Con and Pro controllers, but likely many of your preferred third-party joysticks as well.
iOS 16 was announced yesterday at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) along with other system updates as well as the new M2 chip for the MacBook Air and Pro 13.
The developer preview of iOS 16 is currently available to Apple Developer Program members, with a public beta for users coming out in July. iOS 16 will roll out as a free software update for iPhone 8 and later models in Fall 2022.
Jimmy is on a never-ending quest to finish his ever-expanding library of games, but he keeps getting sidetracked by a mountain of books to read, and a trail of actual mountains he hopes to climb.
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