Ion Audio's original iPad iCade started life as a ThinkGeek April Fool's joke but has since become one of the most well supported iOS game controller accessories. If you aren't familiar with it, it was a small arcade cabinet stand that allowed you to prop your iPad up and play games using a real joystick and buttons. The company behind the iPad gaming accessory has now announced that they have expanded to three new models to service a broader range of iOS devices.
iCade Core - Pictured on the top right, the iCade Core offers a stripped down version of the original iCade cabinet and supports the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. Like the original iCade, the iCade Core lets you play your iOS games with a real joystick and buttons. Communication is done through Bluetooth, but a 30-pin connector is included to allow for charging while playing. No pricing yet for this slimmed down version.
iCade Mobile - Pictured top left, the iCade Mobile is a device that wraps around the iPhone or iPod Touch to give you more of a mobile handheld gaming experience. Again, using Bluetooth alone for the communication, it offers a swiveling landscape or portrait orientation. This one will cost $79.99 when it becomes available this spring. Engadget took this video showing it in motion.
iCade Jr. - Pictured below, the iCade Jr. is a shrunk down version of the original iCade. This version is made specifically for the iPhone or iPod Touch and lets you prop up your device in this miniaturized arcade cabinet. It comes with an arcade joystick and 4 front facing buttons a 4 rear facing buttons. It also offers a dock connector for charging. This one is expected to cost $49, again coming in spring.
There have been other similar mobile gaming accessories for iOS devices, but the iCade seems to be the one that has garnered the most support amongst gaming developers. The new devices will likely be directly compatible with the existing list of iCade compatible games.
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices.
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025:
Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
Wednesday March 26, 2025 4:53 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Apple regularly refreshes the MacBook Pro models, and a new version that uses M5 series chips is in the works. Apple just finished refreshing most of the Mac lineup with M4 chips, and now it's time for the M5. Rumors suggest that we could see the first M5 MacBook Pro models this fall.
Design
There have been no rumors of a design update for the M5 MacBook Pro models that are coming this...
Wednesday March 26, 2025 12:19 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Apple is going all out with promotions for the popular Severance Apple TV+ show today, and as of right now, you'll find a new "Lumon Terminal Pro" listed on Apple's Mac site.
The Lumon Terminal Pro is designed to look similar to the machines that Severance employees like Mark S. and Helly R. use for macrodata refinement. The Terminal features a blue keyboard, a small display with wide...
Thursday March 27, 2025 1:59 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol
In the mid-to-late 2000s, Facebook was all about staying connected with friends and family. However, as the social media platform added new features and grew over time, that core experience began to get drowned out.
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Specifically, Meta has redesigned the...
Apple is expected to release iOS 18.4 to the general public as soon as next week, following more than a month of beta testing.
Apple's website says some iOS 18.4 features will be released in "early April," so the update should be out as early as Tuesday, April 1.
Apple this week seeded the iOS 18.4 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, barring the discovery of any...
Wednesday March 26, 2025 4:06 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Update 7:25 pm: Based on comments from our forums, it appears the original Weibo post may have been mistranslated and "8K" actually refers to the high price of the device rather than 8K video recording capabilities. The iPhone 16 Pro currently starts at 7,999 yuan in China.
Our original article follows below.
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Thursday March 27, 2025 7:45 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
The upcoming iOS 18.4 update for the iPhone adds an Ambient Music feature to Control Center. Below, we take a closer look at how it works.
iOS 18.4 is currently in beta, so the Ambient Music feature is not widely available yet. The update will likely be released to the general public next week.
To use the feature on iOS 18.4, open Control Center and tap on the plus sign in the top-left...
Thursday March 27, 2025 4:21 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
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There's an Apple Vision Pro app, new Apple Intelligence features for notifications and additional language support, plus an Apple News Food feature for Apple News+ subscribers, and several updates that should improve the...
*Apple ~4 years ago* "physical buttons are dead. Touch is the way of the future!" *App-makers today* "we can't be bothered making an enjoyable and intuitive touch interface, let's just go back to physical buttons"
Touch certainly works well in many games. But not all. The two biggest problems IMO are that virtual d-pads just aren't nearly as responsive as their physical counterparts and the lack of shoulder buttons means that you have to juggle your thumbs around more complicated controls (such as those for an FPS).
Nice. I like the iCade more than I expected I would. And more iCade models = more iCade support in games!
The little one looks tippy unless youre a very gentle gamer! But at $49, Id choose it as my charging dock, and just think of the stick/buttons/cabinet as just a fun added novelty factor.
(http://www.flickr.com/photos/danielmacdonald/2127089390)
