Announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this January, the Stratus wireless iOS gaming controller by SteelSeries has joined the likes of Logitech’s PowerShell, Moga’s AcePower, Razer’s Kazuyo/Junglecat and C.T.R.L.i by Mad Catz, to name a few.
Monday, the firm announced a larger-format version of the Stratus, the Stratus XL. The console-style gaming controller works with the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices and comes with a pressure-sensitive D-pad, dual-analog sticks, a set of four action buttons and four shoulder buttons (two pressure-sensitive top shoulder buttons and two analog trigger bottom shoulder buttons)…
Like the original Stratus, the Stratus XL is a wireless accessory so you’ll need to pair it with an iOS device via Bluetooth. Thanks to smart engineering, the controller has a dedicated pairing button to quickly connect to an iOS device via Bluetooth.
According to SteelSeries:
Similar to the Stratus, the highly-rated wireless iOS controller that launched earlier this year at CES, the new controller features red LED indicator lights found in the middle of the controller that displays the number of controllers or players connected during multi-player gameplay – allowing up to 4 controllers to connect to a single device.
The firm claims 40-hour gameplay with two standard AA batteries. There’s also a power switch to shut down the controller when not in use in order to maximize battery performance.
Like other iOS 7 controllers, the Stratus XL works with a growing number of App Store games which have implemented support for physical controllers, like GTA: San Andreas, Leo’s Fortune and many more.
The full-sized controller will be available later this year over at the SteelSeries webstore and through other retailers.
See also: a list of (some) games with iOS controller support, how to use the PS4 Dual Shock 4 controller to play iOS games, Controllers For All jailbreak tweak and the real impact of Apple’s iOS 7 controller support.