
SteelSeries will expand its Made for iPhone gaming controller lineup with a new, larger second model dubbed the Stratus XL, offering wireless connectivity to Apple’s iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. Although the first SteelSeries Stratus, which was released earlier this year, was designed for portability, the new full-size controller is more akin to the dedicated console controllers found on systems like Microsoft’s Xbox One and Sony’s PlayStation 4. It’s set to launch later this year but pricing hasn’t been made available.
The Stratus XL sports dual joysticks, a directional pad, four action buttons, and four shoulder buttons. The controller also has a dedicated pairing button that will allow it to easily connect to iOS devices via Bluetooth. SteelSeries is estimating that the new Stratus XL will give users 40 hours of gameplay via two standard AA batteries. A hardware battery indicator can be found on the underside of the device.
Tino Soelberg, the SteelSeries CTO, had the following to say regarding the matter:
We have been working for well over a year now on perfecting the wireless controller experience for iOS devices. We have been incredibly impressed by the way the SteelSeries Stratus has been received by consumers so far and we are looking forward to introducing the Stratus XL to the iOS gaming community - who have been asking for a full-sized controller option. The Stratus XL was designed to meet their demands, delivered with the premium features and top-to-bottom quality expected from SteelSeries.
The Cupertino California company plans to change that later this year with the launch of iOS 8, which is said to bring controller forwarding support. With the next-gen mobile operating system, controllers that physically connect to the iPhone will be able to wirelessly control titles that may be running separately on an iPad or even a Mac running Yosemite.
Source: SteelSeries
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