With Pie, Android finally supports a game controller it can be proud of
After years of incorrect controller mapping, this week finally saw Google fix Xbox One controller support in Android Pie.
The bug (which XDA Developers noticed has now been solved) meant that button mapping was very inconsistent across different games, making it hard to rely on the Xbox One pad across many titles.
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But now it seems that Android is becoming an increasingly popular gaming platform, someone at Google saw fit to fix the bug after two years.
If you want to use your Xbox One gamepad with your Android smartphone you’ll need a phone that’s running Android Pie, along with one of the later gamepads released with the Xbox One S and included with the Xbox One X (since the original gamepads didn’t support Bluetooth).
However, once you’ve got the two connected, you should have a very solidly made controller to play any games that support it, a list which unfortunately doesn’t include the recent Android Fortnite release (although that could change soon).
Controller comes to mobile
Fortnite aside, there are plenty of other games that include controller support, including Minecraft — which as of 2017 features full cross play with every other platform out there.
But the app that we’re most excited to try out is Steam Link, which lets you stream your Steam games over Wi-Fi to your phone.
Read more: Best smartphone
Sure, you could try to remap the game’s controls to your touchscreen, but why would you bother when you can use the controller that most PC games with controller support are designed for?
What’s your favourite Android game that supports a controller? Let us know @TrustedReviews.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.