Apple makes gamers happy with a new update that supports controls for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.

The gaming market is one of the biggest and most lucrative markets around. Many have a misconception that the market’s wealth only concerns those who have consoles such as PlayStation and Xbox’s. However, thanks to smart devices, even the average person is transformed into a gamer.

The pandemic has helped to increase the number of gamers as the world battles lockdowns and keeping busy. In total, the industry is thought to be worth $159.3 Billion, with smartphone gamers making up a colossal £77.2billion. These figures are astonishing and even surpass the smartphone market figures altogether, which has hit a very stagnant period.

(Source: Newzoo)

There is always much talk surrounding the latest updates from Apple. Past Apple updates have given away significant clues and insight into Apple’s future tech, and others have just been mysterious. In most cases, updates are usually helpful and help fix bugs that would otherwise affect the software and device’s performance. 

In their latest update, Apple has introduced a beta iOS 14.5 update, which includes a pleasant surprise for gamers. Apple has introduced support for PS5 DualSense and Xbox Series X controllers.

Currently, the controllers are not supported on Apple iOS and iPad iOS versions, and so this is excellent news for the gamers out there who would love to be able to use their Apple devices as controllers. This also means players, as long as they have an Apple device with the update, will no longer need to invest in additional controllers.

In November 2020, there was much speculation regarding why Apple added controller features to their new update; however, not much was mentioned. It’s not entirely clear why Apple has chosen to do this and if there is more to it? 

One theory could because Apple TV has made their way to multiple Xbox ranges and PlayStation, the Apple TV Apps give gamers access to thousands of shows and movie content from convenient locations. However, this new buzz could mean an Apple console on the horizon. 

Apple Console

There has been much speculation surrounding the possibility of Apple moving into the gaming market. The latest update could be a test to see how well their devices work as controllers for consoles before implementing it on their own console when it eventually comes out. 

However, Apple has taken gaming to new heights in their own rights. Although the iPad was the first of its kind in technology, its popularity has seen an array of applications come to market for the sole purpose of entertainment on these devices, which include games as demonstrated in the graph below. 

(Image Source: Statista)

Looking at their developments, technically, Apple already has an existing form of ARM-based game console with the Apple-TV. The TV chip is powerful enough to run mobile games blown up at full TV screen scale. The current iPad also has an A12Z Bionic chip, which is a very powerful chip. With this in mind, it won’t take much for Apple to become a real contender against the current consoles on the market. 

Considering the amount of funds and access to developers Apple already has, and their position in the market as tech pioneers following their ecosystem of devices, the possibility of a new console could fit in quite nicely. However, in the nature of Apple’s current products, and their key features such as being lightweight, minimal and sleek, they may decide to take a softer approach and first bring to market a portable gaming device similar to the Nintendo switch. Doing so will help them stay true to their current devices and current products in size and scale but a leap on graphics and software.

It should be noted however, even though Apple does have a wealth of knowledge and understanding when it comes to creating devices, it is a sector that they only know little about compared to rivals like Nintendo. Console gamers are real and dedicated to their likes and dislikes of new products and games. This means things can either go really well for Apple or horribly wrong.