Apple's Beats Game Controller Project Aims to Boost Services Revenue

Apple is reportedly developing game controllers for its iPhone under the Beats brand, according to Bloomberg. The project has been in development for over a year and includes haptic feedback.

The report comes after a discovery of two dedicated GameController profiles in the first macOS 26.7 release candidate: T6502 and T1057. These profiles identified as Apple hardware and described conventional controls including a directional pad, two thumbsticks, shoulder buttons, and analog triggers.

However, both profiles were removed from the public build comparison when Apple moved from build 25G220 to 25G224, which could reflect secrecy before a launch or abandoned prototypes.

The economic case for the controller runs through services, not hardware sales. Services generated $30.739 billion in revenue in the quarter ended June 27, up 12% from a year earlier, with a 75.6% gross margin.