“We are extending support to the two best and most popular game controllers available”, Apple’s CEO Tim Cook said at WWDC event occurring in early June this year. WWDC, or Worldwide Developers Conference, is a conference held annually by Apple Inc. to showcase its new software and technologies.
According to Apple’s announcement, Apple TV is the first one compatible with the controllers, including Microsoft Xbox One S and Playstation 4. After that, they will extend their support to iOS 13 and MacOS Catalina. In March 2019, Apple started providing gaming services on Apple TV and some other devices, with the introduction of Apple Arcade. It is not clear how much Apple charge for using the service, but Apple Arcade will be officially launched in the fall.
Arcade will be installed in all Apple devices
Apple has not publicly announced details of their plan, such as whether all features of the controllers could be used.
Strategy For Future Growth?
The decision of Apple to add support to gaming controllers comes at the time that service businesses are taking greater contribution to Apple’s revenue. Statistics show that services like App Store, iCloud or Apple Music now accounts for around 30 percent of the company’s profits. Games and Video platforms will be the next focuses, according to the company.
Although iPhone still hold the leading position in global smartphone market, its sale revenue has appeared to go down sharply in recent times. Therefore, investments on monthly-subscription services may be Apple’s new move to ensure future growth for this tech giant.
Various Applications on Apple TV
Besides these above services, Apple also drives forward on technologies like augmented reality or streaming. IOS is expected to be the biggest AR (Augmented Reality) platform in the world, providing developers with an app and a high-level framework. Meanwhile, on March 2019, Apple introduced its new streaming service on Apple TV, directly competing with Netflix, Hulu and Amazon.