iOS 16 supports Nintendo’s Switch Pro and Joy-Con controllers

iOS 16 supports Nintendo’s Switch Pro and Joy-Con controllers

Photo by James Bareham / The Verge

Apple is adding native support for the Nintendo Switch Pro and Joy-Con controllers in iOS 16. Riley Testut, one of the iOS developers behind AltStore, discovered the new controller support in a developer beta of iOS 16 that was released yesterday.

The Nintendo Switch Pro Controller works “perfectly” according to Testut, and both Joy-Con controllers show up as a single device for apps and games to take advantage of. Nat Brown, an engineering manager at Apple, has confirmed the new controller support and even revealed there’s a neat method to switch how the Joy-Cons work in iOS 16. You can dynamically switch between using both Joy-Cons as a single controller or two separate ones by holding the screenshot and home buttons for a few seconds.

The Joy-Con support opens up the iPhone and iPad to new games that can take advantage of these controllers, and it will be interesting to see what developers do here. Apple’s work comes more than a year after the iPhone maker added support for the PS5’s DualSense controller, alongside support for the Xbox Series X controllers.

iOS 16 is currently available as a developer preview, with a public beta expected next month and a full release in the fall.