Apple Inc. is reportedly embracing the world of gaming accessories with a "Gamepad Controller" for the upcoming iPad 5 and the other Apple products such as the iPhone 5S, iPhone 6 and iPad Mini 2. According to the PocketGamer report, the technology giant was present at the 2013 Game Developer Conference (GDC) where meetings with the developers were held.

"It's been operating a meeting room at the show, albeit booked under a pseudonym company name to avoid media attention," PocketGamer reported. The developers secretly discussed with "PocketNow" their conversations with Apple about the reality of the "in-development gaming controller device."

Apple is predicted to release the iPad 5 with the Gamepad Controller in April 2013. Analyst Gene Munster and iMore claims that an iPad 5 release date in April is possible together with another much anticipated Apple device, the iPad Mini 2.

However, the Gamepad Controller information still remains unclear. "None of our contacts had seen or held the physical device so we don't know if the pad will take a conventional approach or employ a radical new design," PocketGamer further reported.

Apple's plan of releasing a gaming accessory is another shot to compete with rival company, Samsung, who announced a gaming controller device that works well with the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, Samsung Galaxy S3 and the Samsung Galaxy S4.

The numerous rumors on the upcoming iPad 5 features and specifications include the 9.7-inch Retina Display with 2048x1536p resolution, the Apple A7 quad-core processor, 1-2GB of RAM, 5-8MP rear-facing camera with 1.3MP front-facing camera, Wi-Fi +4G LTE, Bluetooth 4.0 and Lightning Connector. The available internal storage capacities to choose from are 16GB, 32GB, 64GB and 128GB.

For the iPad 5, the Apple tablet will probably have an unchanged starting price which is $499. Since the storage capacity has been increased to 128GB, the iPad 5 price is projected to range from $499 to $929.

RELATED STORIES