This iPhone Game Lets You Use AirPods As Controllers

Launched in 2016 alongside the iPhone 7 as a fix for a potential problem (the removal of the headphone jack), the AirPods became an instant hit with buyers, prompting other smartphone vendors to launch their own wireless earphones in the following years. Apple has released several models since then, which do more than just play audio. The AirPods Pro brought Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) a few years ago, a feature that's also available on the AirPods 4. Last year, Apple gave the AirPods Pro hearing aid functionality. The recently released AirPods Pro 3 feature heart rate sensors to help with workout sessions. If all that's not enough, the AirPods just got a new functionality, which is rather surprising. The wireless earphones work as game controllers, though it's not a feature Apple introduced.

Developer Ali Tanis released a mobile game called RidePods — Race with Head that allows iPhone and iPad users to race a motorcycle with the help of AirPods. The point of the game is to avoid traffic and get the highest possible score while moving your head to accelerate, brake, and turn the motorcycle.

The game requires AirPods that are equipped with motion sensors, including any AirPods Pro models, or AirPods 3, or newer models. The game may not work as intended without compatible earbuds, according to the App Store description.

A racing game like RidePods would feature two types of iPhone controls traditionally. You'd either tilt the phone left and right to steer the car or bike, or tap a virtual controller on the screen. Moving the head so the AirPods act as controllers is an interesting idea, though the control method might be too tiring for the user. However, The Verge points out that RidePods is more of a concept than a fully fleshed-out game. The road never curves, so you're tilting your head to avoid traffic.

Interestingly, The Verge manages to use a single AirPods earbud as a hand controller after turning off Automatic Head or Ear Detection. But this type of "controller" might be even more annoying to use than tilting your head to steer the motorcycle. That's to say that you shouldn't expect too many developers to introduce controller support for AirPods in racing games.

However, the concept RidePods introduces might have a use for other types of apps and games that don't involve high-speed racing. Others might come up with better ideas for turning AirPods into optional controllers for certain in-app actions that can respond to subtle head movements. Also, AirPods might be paired with smart glasses with augmented reality features to perform app actions on a display only the user sees, but that's highly speculative for now.