Apple is reportedly developing a gaming controller for the iPhone that could launch under its Beats brand rather than the main Apple label, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The move would mark Apple's entry into a new hardware category, expanding beyond its current practice of merely stocking third-party controllers from firms such as Backbone and SteelSeries in its online store.

Code referencing two devices, codenamed T6502 and T1057, was recently spotted by a MacRumors reader in a macOS release candidate, describing hardware with dual thumbsticks, shoulder buttons and D-pads. Gurman reports that Beats executives are handling product engineering and design for these controllers, and suggests Apple may be using the Beats name to test the market with a cheaper, less premium option while tapping into stylistic overlap between gaming and Beats' customer base. No release timeline has been given for either device.