Xbox Series X controller support coming to Apple platforms in future update

The Xbox Series X controller

Apple says it is working with Microsoft to bring Xbox Series X controller compatibility to all of its platforms in a future update.

The Xbox Series X controller does not stray far from the previous generation's design aesthetic, but it does include important Bluetooth updates and button changes. The new controller has Bluetooth Low Energy built in alongside the Xbox wireless radio spec for a wide range of compatibility.

Xbox says it built the controller so it could be used across consoles, PCs, and phones since its xCloud service would enable play from anywhere. You can even connect the controller directly to your MacBook or iPad using the USB-C connector.

MacRumors first spotted the change in a support document, which sites the plans for future compatibility with the Xbox controller. This means you'll be able to connect the controller to any device running the latest iOS, iPadOS, macOS, or tvOS once compatibility is added.

Apple nor Sony have commented on future compatibility with the DualSense controller, the controller for the PS5. Reports suggested that iOS 14.3 included support for the Playstation 5 controller, but AppleInsider staff have not successfully paired the controller in any of the beta periods.

The next generation of consoles is here, and so are the controllers. Find out which console works best for the Apple user and decide what controller to get by reading our comparison here.

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5 Comments

cloudguy 323 comments · 4 Years

About 4 years ago

Paging DED! The gaming industry needs to step up and support Macs. Before now ignoring Macs made sense for reasons that I don't get into. But now? A $699 Mac Mini is a legit gaming rig!!!

Steam, Origin, Epic ... they all need to use macOS. Don't nearly all the major engines have tools to port games to macOS? If they don't, they need to develop them. It is the job of gaming companies to support the best hardware for the benefit of gamers. Right now the Mac Mini and the MacBook Air represent the best hardware and the best value for gamers. From what I have read, the Mac Mini and MacBook Air give performance roughly equivalent to about a $1400 device that has a recent Intel Core i7, 16 GB of RAM and a 4 GB Nvidia graphics card.

Gaming industry, you had legit reasons before but now they are gone. Do gamers right by supporting the best hardware and the best value!

dyonoctis 49 comments · 4 Years

About 4 years ago

cloudguy said:

Paging DED! The gaming industry needs to step up and support Macs. Before now ignoring Macs made sense for reasons that I don't get into. But now? A $699 Mac Mini is a legit gaming rig!!!

Steam, Origin, Epic ... they all need to use macOS. Don't nearly all the major engines have tools to port games to macOS? If they don't, they need to develop them. It is the job of gaming companies to support the best hardware for the benefit of gamers. Right now the Mac Mini and the MacBook Air represent the best hardware and the best value for gamers. From what I have read, the Mac Mini and MacBook Air give performance roughly equivalent to about a $1400 device that has a recent Intel Core i7, 16 GB of RAM and a 4 GB Nvidia graphics card.

Gaming industry, you had legit reasons before but now they are gone. Do gamers right by supporting the best hardware and the best value!

Hold up, we are not there yet the macbook air is merely faster than comparable thin laptop, but not faster than a 1400$ gaming laptop who can get a RTX 2070 8gb and certainly not faster than a 1400$ desktop pc. For that price you can get a RTX 3080 10Gb that is a magnitude of order faster than the m1 gpu. At 699$ you can get a pc with a 1660 super that stil faster than the m1.

Right now the m1 is great for casual games, a few AAA games on low/medium setting or e-sport title like overwatch, valorant, fortnite. If apple want to become something viable for gamers, the imac gpu will have to be at least as fast as a RTX 2070 Super, or the soon to be released RTX 3060Ti. A 999$ 21'5 imac with that kind of speed will be a steal.

But remember : gamers who have a desktop pc only for gaming are a particuliar kind of market, because those are people who are keeping their CPU for a long time and switching gpu every two or three years, wich doesn't fit into Apple vision of a personal computer.

Beats 3073 comments · 4 Years

About 4 years ago

Yay can't wait to tap the A-button for all those crappy iPhone games on my Apple TV!

dyonoctis said:

cloudguy said:

Paging DED! The gaming industry needs to step up and support Macs. Before now ignoring Macs made sense for reasons that I don't get into. But now? A $699 Mac Mini is a legit gaming rig!!!

Steam, Origin, Epic ... they all need to use macOS. Don't nearly all the major engines have tools to port games to macOS? If they don't, they need to develop them. It is the job of gaming companies to support the best hardware for the benefit of gamers. Right now the Mac Mini and the MacBook Air represent the best hardware and the best value for gamers. From what I have read, the Mac Mini and MacBook Air give performance roughly equivalent to about a $1400 device that has a recent Intel Core i7, 16 GB of RAM and a 4 GB Nvidia graphics card.

Gaming industry, you had legit reasons before but now they are gone. Do gamers right by supporting the best hardware and the best value!

Hold up, we are not there yet the macbook air is merely faster than comparable thin laptop, but not faster than a 1400$ gaming laptop who can get a RTX 2070 8gb and certainly not faster than a 1400$ desktop pc. For that price you can get a RTX 3080 10Gb that is a magnitude of order faster than the m1 gpu. At 699$ you can get a pc with a 1660 super that stil faster than the m1.

Right now the m1 is great for casual games, a few AAA games on low/medium setting or e-sport title like overwatch, valorant, fortnite. If apple want to become something viable for gamers, the imac gpu will have to be at least as fast as a RTX 2070 Super, or the soon to be released RTX 3060Ti. A 999$ 21'5 imac with that kind of speed will be a steal.

But remember : gamers who have a desktop pc only for gaming are a particuliar kind of market, because those are people who are keeping their CPU for a long time and switching gpu every two or three years, wich doesn't fit into Apple vision of a personal computer.

It's funny how the definition of "casual games" changes annually.

Also Macs last longer than the crapware Windows offers. So that logic is false. In the pro industry many people keep their Macs for over 10 years.

mobird 758 comments · 20 Years

About 4 years ago

dyonoctis said:
But remember : gamers who have a desktop pc only for gaming are a particuliar kind of market, because those are people who are keeping their CPU for a long time and switching gpu every two or three years, wich doesn't fit into Apple vision of a personal computer.

Beats said:

It's funny how the definition of "casual games" changes annually.

Also Macs last longer than the crapware Windows offers. So that logic is false. In the pro industry many people keep their Macs for over 10 years.

Did you even bother to read and comprehend what @dyonoctis posted? Slow down and try again. The 1st clue is "But remember: gamers who have a desktop pc only for gaming are a particuliar kind of market". I don't see anything "false" in his logic.

You and krupp keep a lot of us entertained...

dyonoctis 49 comments · 4 Years

About 4 years ago

Beats said:

Yay can't wait to tap the A-button for all those crappy iPhone games on my Apple TV!

dyonoctis said:

cloudguy said:

Paging DED! The gaming industry needs to step up and support Macs. Before now ignoring Macs made sense for reasons that I don't get into. But now? A $699 Mac Mini is a legit gaming rig!!!

Steam, Origin, Epic ... they all need to use macOS. Don't nearly all the major engines have tools to port games to macOS? If they don't, they need to develop them. It is the job of gaming companies to support the best hardware for the benefit of gamers. Right now the Mac Mini and the MacBook Air represent the best hardware and the best value for gamers. From what I have read, the Mac Mini and MacBook Air give performance roughly equivalent to about a $1400 device that has a recent Intel Core i7, 16 GB of RAM and a 4 GB Nvidia graphics card.

Gaming industry, you had legit reasons before but now they are gone. Do gamers right by supporting the best hardware and the best value!

Hold up, we are not there yet the macbook air is merely faster than comparable thin laptop, but not faster than a 1400$ gaming laptop who can get a RTX 2070 8gb and certainly not faster than a 1400$ desktop pc. For that price you can get a RTX 3080 10Gb that is a magnitude of order faster than the m1 gpu. At 699$ you can get a pc with a 1660 super that stil faster than the m1.

Right now the m1 is great for casual games, a few AAA games on low/medium setting or e-sport title like overwatch, valorant, fortnite. If apple want to become something viable for gamers, the imac gpu will have to be at least as fast as a RTX 2070 Super, or the soon to be released RTX 3060Ti. A 999$ 21'5 imac with that kind of speed will be a steal.

But remember : gamers who have a desktop pc only for gaming are a particuliar kind of market, because those are people who are keeping their CPU for a long time and switching gpu every two or three years, wich doesn't fit into Apple vision of a personal computer.

It's funny how the definition of "casual games" changes annually.

Also Macs last longer than the crapware Windows offers. So that logic is false. In the pro industry many people keep their Macs for over 10 years.

But Pro and gamers are not the same market at all ! even pro between themselve have different needs ! 10 years is a huge gap in technology, while graphic designers can make it work, 3d animators are not using 10 years old computers. it's about raw power, and features not something turning on or off !

A gamer can't keep a gpu for 10 years, and expect to play all the modern games. Games are developed on and with recent hardware in mind, mac os can't make a gpu run 700% faster ! 10 years from now the m1 gpu will be really slow compared to the m10, the gaming industry will have moved waaay beyond that point already, with the exception of 2d games. 3D developpement is following hardware innovation really closely, if something groundbreaking happens, they will jump on it.

Consoles are an exception because the hardware doesn't change until the next generation, so games are always made within their capabilities, wich is why the pc version is often the better one because the technology used is recent.