Over the course of the macOS Big Sur 11.3 beta, Apple has been updating and improving the way iPad and iPhone apps run on M1 Macs. In the latest beta, Apple has added a game controller emulation for M1 devices, allowing a keyboard or keyboard and mouse combo to act as a game controller.
/article-new/2021/03/game-control-emulation.png?resize=560%2C286&ssl=1)
The new game control feature was discovered by MacRumors contributor Steve Moser. When running the iPhone or iPad app, opening the options brings up a Touch Alternatives and Game Control interface that can be used to make touch-based iPhone and iPad apps run better with Mac controls.
With Emulation Controller built in, common game control buttons are mapped to keyboard keys and mouse buttons. X, for example, is mapped to Q, the joystick is mapped to WASD, and Y is mapped to E. L1 and L2 are obtained by pressing Tab and Shift, respectively, and is the Space Bar button A.
Controller Emulation allows iPhone and iPad games with built – in controller support to be properly controlled by keyboard and / or mouse when these games are played on Mac M1. This feature is designed for those who do not have a game controller, as those who just have a controller can connect to play.
The macOS 11.3 Big Sur beta also includes the Touch Alternatives panel named for mapping touch-based features like tap, swipe, drag, and tilt to keyboard keys, and has a feature to make the appiPhone and iPad app windows bigger.
/article-new/2021/03/touch-alternatives-m1-macs.jpg?resize=560%2C327&ssl=1)
Emulation Controller and Touch Alternatives work independently of each other, and only one of these features can be enabled at a time.
As for game controller support, many custom controllers from Sony and Microsoft are compatible with M1 Macs, and the beta supports the latest PlayStation 5 and Xbox One X controllers.