iPhone Home Button That Transforms Into Gaming Joystick Shown in Apple Patent Application

[wizard]

They are right about one thing: fingers in the screen suck.

However a Joystck alone won't solve all of the problems with gaming in these devices. More switch inputs would go a long way to making a wider array of games playable.

 

[Gusjasso]

I've owned every single iPhone and every single home button wore out. Sometimes twice. Except the 6 but it's just a waiting game for that one...

Have you tried washing your hands?

 

[quickcalibre]

I dunno about it springing up, but making the home button into a type of analog control function would vastly improve games.

 

[MetalMac]

this could bring back the ipod touch, focused on gaming, give it a whole different market than the iphone ?

 

[Fzang]

They should just release their own MFi controller that isn't complete garbage.

 

[dannys1]

I love apple products ... they are useful and of course entertaining, but this move looks almost desperate ... trying to find a new reason to flog the wares. I think a quality product that stays up to date is enough. This form of cheap gadgetry makes me NOT want to buy an iPhone. I don't want to own a gaming device, I want to own a phone with powerful features ... which it already has.

This would be like buying a new car with huge spoiler on the back end or a big scoop on the hood .... for kids ... so ... maybe Apple should put out a model called the 'iMatura' ... for those who cannot grow up and keep a more serious model for the rest of us.

You realise this is just a idea patent, its not coming to an iPhone at any point. Its not a "move" at all.

 

[grahamtriggs]

Oh dear...

Apple - stop trying to cram everything on to a single button. It doesn't work very well. Please, please, please, please please and more buttons.

 

[fiveainone]

Terrible idea, feels like they're patenting it to save it just in case. Using the TouchID ring as joystick was much better idea, and I was wondering about that the other day.

 

[andycarver]

Ants in your pants.

iPhone bug

 

[goobot]

How would it know the difference between siri and this tho?

 

[Traverse]

It sounds neat in theory, but like others have pointed out it just seems like another point of failure.

Every iOS home button I've ever had has gotten loose eventually.

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Watch out Nintendo.

If only. I would love it so much if Ninteno would bring their games to iOS, but I understand their position. Plus, it got me to pick up a 2DS to play some classic games.

 

[Col4bin]

Absolutely brilliant idea here. Unfortunately for me, I tend to get a little too carried away and I'm sure that during certain mid-game euphoria, I would most likely break the darn thing. I can certainly see many a home button joysticks being returned to the Apple Store for repairs!

 

[viorelgn]

Looks awfully flimsy. But if Apple can pull it off then this is a great news for mobile gaming and not so good news for PS Vita and 3DS.