iOS 16 will support Nintendo’s Joy-Cons and other game controllers

Yesterday at WWDC 2022, Apple discussed how iOS 16 would improve the gaming experience with updated Metal 3 graphics, Game Center improvements and more. Now, it looks like iOS 16 will offer support for more third-party gaming controllers as well, most notably Nintendo’s Joy-Con and Pro controllers, 9to5Mac has reported. 

Developer Riley Testut found that he could play games with Nintendo Switch Joy-Con and Pro controllers on iPhones and iPads with the latest iOS 16 beta release. The update also supports the 8Bitdo, BADA MOGA XP5-X Plus and Logitech F710 Gamepad controllers, according to the internal code spotted by 9to5Mac. 

iOS 16 lets you pair the Joy-Cons as one controller or separately, and you can customize the controls in the Bluetooth settings. You can even dynamically switch between using both Joy-Cons as a single controller or two separate controllers by pressing and holding the screenshot and home buttons. “Apple seriously killed it with this implementation,” said Testut. (In a reply to his tweet, another user noted that Apple apparently initiated support for Switch Pro controllers last year with macOS 12.)

It looks like Apple will be able to add support for more controllers without the need to ship a new iOS version, using something called “mobile assets.” That’s similar to another new feature that allows Apple to automatically issue security updates in between iOS releases. 

iOS 16 will automatically install security fixes

When iOS 16 arrives, iPhone owners won’t have to deal with full software installs for the latest security patches. Apple is launching a new feature with the mobile OS called Rapid Security Response, which enables the company to automatically apply security fixes to users’ devices in between its standard software updates. It’s one of the security features the tech giant has announced at WWDC this year, along with Safety Check that gives users a quick way to see which contacts have access to their location and calendar info. Safety Check will also show them the permissions used by every app on their device. 

As MacRumors notes, iOS 16 will add a new section under Automatic Updates in Settings called “Install System and Data Files.” When toggled on, users can get software fixes that aren’t tied with full updates, installed automatically and without them having to restart their phones or lift a finger altogether. It’s switched on by default upon upgrading to the new OS, so those who don’t want automatic installs will have to remember to toggle it off.

Apple’s iOS 16 brings a bunch of other new features to iPhones, including a more customizable lock screen, the ability to edit texts and the ability to use Face ID even when the device is in landscape mode. The public beta of the mobile platform will come out in July, though it’ll no longer support the iPhone 6S, 7 and the first-gen SE.

Follow all of the news from WWDC right here!

BioWare’s quality assurance testers form the first video game labor union in Canada

Bioware’s quality assurance testers working on Dragon Age: Dreadwolf have voted to form the first unionized workplace for the video game industry in Canada. The United Food and Commercial Workers Local 401 applied to become the certified bargaining agent for Keywords Studios, the contracting company through which the testers are employed, back in April. Now, Kotaku says the election has resulted in a 16-0 vote in favor of unionization. Before working on the fourth major game in the Dragon Age franchise, they also supported the development of Mass Effect: Legendary Edition and Legacy of the Sith, an expansion for Star Wars: The Old Republic.

The testers, who work out of BioWare’s Edmonton office, started organizing after Keywords Studios announced that they’ll be required to return to office, whereas direct BioWare employees were give more options. Keywords took back its return-to-office order, but the testers told Kotaku that they’re working to prevent it from being reinstated and to get the company to increase their pay. At the moment, their base pay is around US$13 an hour, roughly equivalent to the area’s minimum wage. They argued that the amount they’re being paid isn’t commensurate with the skills needed for the job and that BioWare employees doing the same work are being paid a lot more.

The union that’s now representing the workers are expected to bargain with the studio’s bosses sometime this week. In an email the QA testers sent out, they wrote: “We are excited to move into bargaining with the employer and start towards a more equitable working situation.”

In the US, QA workers at Activision Blizzard studio Raven Software voted to unionize last month. That came after they went on strike following layoffs that affected 12 testers and after the studio split the remaining workers among various departments, perhaps in an effort to make unionization efforts hard to organize. Xbox head Phil Spencer announced that Microsoft will recognize the union after the tech giant’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard is complete.

Amazon knocks $80 off Anova’s Precision Cooker sous vide machine

Father’s Day is right around the corner, so you might be sniffing around for the perfect gift for dear ol’ dad. If he likes fiddling around the kitchen, then consider giving him a sous vide machine, which helps ensure the perfect medium-rare steak or chicken breasts that are never dry or overcooked. Sous vide machines can be pretty pricey, but thankfully the Anova Precision Cooker is on sale right now; it has dropped to a new price of $139 from its original $220. 

Buy Anova Precision Cooker Nano at Amazon – $139

Cooking via sous vide really just means cooking foods in a water bath. You’d typically place food inside a sealed bag and submerge it in a water-filled vessel. A sous vide machine attached to it essentially regulates the temperature of the water so that the food is cooked low and slow to the desired doneness. 

Anova’s Precision Cooker lets you do that easily right out of the box thanks to its on-board controls. It also has WiFi so you can connect it to Anova’s companion app, which comes with a plethora of recipes and a handy tutorial in case you need some guidance. 

The Precision Cooker is usually pricier than the Nano, which is what we normally recommend, but it does have a few advantages. It has an adjustable clamp compared to a fixed-position model, and it can fit on thicker vessels (up to 1.2 inches). Plus, it has 1,000 watts instead of the Nano’s 750 watts, which means it can heat the water faster as well. Since this deal drops the price of the Precision Cooker down to nearly the same price as the Nano, we think it’s absolutely worth the upgrade. 

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