With the announcement of the New Apple TV and its new emphasis on gaming, it was only a matter of time before third-party vendors created peripherals for the set-top box. The first official gaming controller to be announced for the New Apple TV is the Nimbus. The Nimbus by SteelSeries has full support from Apple as it is prominently displayed on Apple’s website under the Games and More tab in the Apple TV section.
The Nimbus will connect to the New Apple TV over Bluetooth and have a 40+ hour run-time. It will also feature a lightning connector on the controller for quick charging. The Nimbus will launch around late October for $49.99 and will be available for purchase on Apple.com and in Apple retail stores.
The Nimbus’s design choices seem to take from different sources, but are still very familiar in their own right. The two parallel analog sticks are reminiscent of Sony’s Dualshock 4 controller while the design of the sticks, including the grip, remind of the Xbox One controller. The Nimbus also has the same labeled face buttons as the Xbox One controller. It will be interesting to see if the slight variations of design patterns on the sticks and the swapping of button colors on the Nimbus are enough to skirt by unwanted legal attention.
Specs of the controller are below. A full gallery of Nimbus pictures can be found at the end of the article.
DIMENSIONS
- Width: 150 mm (5.91 in)
- Height: 110 mm (4.33 in)
- Depth: 63.2 mm (2.49 in)
CONNECTIVITY
- Bluetooth
BOX CONTENTS
- Controller
- Quick start guide
- SteelSeries Stickers
KEY FEATURES
- Lightning connector
- Rechargeable 40+ hour battery life
- Lithium ion rechargable batteries
- Pressure-sensitive buttons