Gaming gets serious with home button joystick on iPhones and iPads

Earlier yesterday, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple revealing their interest and the possibility of making a next-gen multi-functional Apple device "iDevice" home button. Yes, a home button which also functions as a gaming joystick.

Spoiler

http://imgur.com/S1b986D

The above illustration shows that the new home button will be able to shift between two modes : a standard home button to a gaming joystick and vice versa. The transition from one mode to another is rather simple according to the plan of the home button. In the first mode, the gap between the input portion is tight to its surface in which case the home button is really just a home button and functions just as one. In the second mode however, the input portion is proud on top of its surface which shows a clear gap between them. To put it in a simpler way, they described the motion in which the home button shifts to a tiny gaming joystick using the phrase "home button pops up".

In addition to that, it was also noted that the touch screens that may be well-suited to applications such as internet browser applications might be able to offer advantages when operating game applications. In other words, synchronize with the new gaming joystick. Despite all these, possible short-comings exist as users might encounter several problems such as for example, a user's finger may need to cover part of the screen while the user is controlling the game. This may interfere with the user's ability to see what he's controlling and/or other portions of the game display.

Gamers would still have to wait considering that this is just a patent application, the timing of such a product to market is unknown at this time. This invention would definitely benefit our gaming experience with the palpable feels and precision moves that a joystick can provide.