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iOS 13 Will Turn Your iPhone into a Mobile PS4 Thanks to DualShock 4 Support and the Remote Play App

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Apple this week announced that iOS 13 and iPadOS will introduce full support for Sony's DualShock 4 controller, which is the main game controller for the PlayStation 4. This announcement, along with confirmation of Xbox One S controller support, is great for iOS gamers, but even more enticing thanks to Sony's existing Remote Play app for iOS.

iOS-13-ps4-dualshock.jpg

Released in March, the Remote Play app [Direct Link] lets you connect your iPhone or iPad to your PS4 to stream and play games while away from your living room (but still on a Wi-Fi network, because the app doesn't support cellular connectivity). At launch, the app worked well and provided a sample of what it would be like to play games like Overwatch and Assassin's Creed: Odyssey on your iPhone, but the touchscreen controls and lack of full support for certain buttons on existing MFi controllers left many games nearly unplayable.

Now, with iOS 13 and DualShock 4 support, your iPhone or iPad will essentially be a portable PS4. You'll encounter all of the usual PS4-related controls, including full support for the console's dashboard, store, and user profiles. You can even allow it access to your iOS microphone to talk to your friends in a party or through game chat.

remote-play-KH3.jpg
We used a DualShock 4 to play Kingdom Hearts 3 on the iOS 13 developer beta​


There are some downsides to the Remote Play app, including the fact that some games are not compatible with it and won't let you stream or control the game from your iOS device. But, for the games that do support Remote Play, users will have a chance to play full console titles right from their iPhone.

DualShock 4 and Xbox One S controller support also have the ability to enhance other gaming apps, like the recently released Steam Link app for iOS. Valve's app lets you stream your Steam games to iPhone or iPad, as long as your mobile device and PC are on the same Wi-Fi network. Once connected, you can use your iOS device to play Steam games, many of which already support DualShock 4 and Xbox controllers.

ios13ps4controllersupport.jpg

Microsoft is working on a mobile streaming app of its own, which could come to iOS devices as well. But, as of now, Xbox One gamers have to look into third-party options for streaming to an iPhone or iPad, like the $11.99 OneCast app [Direct Link]. Similar to Sony Remote Play, OneCast streams Xbox One games to iOS devices that are connected to a Wi-Fi network.

Besides iOS 13 and iPadOS, tvOS 13 is gaining support for the DualShock 4 and Xbox One S controller as well. Apple's support for these controllers will be timed alongside the release of Apple Arcade, an all-new subscription service for iOS, iPadOS, and tvOS that will present users with high-quality games that they can play on-demand while subscribing to the platform.

Article Link: iOS 13 Will Turn Your iPhone into a Mobile PS4 Thanks to DualShock 4 Support and the Remote Play App
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2019/06/05/ios-13-iphone-ps4-remote-play/
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I think Apple did the right thing here by partnering with Sony and Microsoft to use their hardware and drivers. It's also great because AMD will power the CPU and GPU in the next gen consoles. AMD recently made a deal with Samsung to license custom graphics IP to Samsung so they can develop something better than Mali and Adreno. We might see something similar with AMD and the iPhone in the future.

It isn't a surprise since AMD seems to be firing on all cylinders and NVidia has a history of screwing over their partners. Sony and Microsoft are also partnering up. I guess anything to prevent Google from encroaching profits even further is a good thing.

Then again, Google half-asses nearly everything outside Android and other core products.
 
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From my experience, there is substantial lag in the Remote Play app that severely limits the playability of rapid action games like first-person shooters and sport games.
 
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212rikanmofo said:
It's not just limited to the X-Box One "S" controller, it also works with the non-S version. I have a X-Box One controller that I use with Windows 10 and it works as well.
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I think Tim just misspoke there I laughed at the "S" thing too.
 
Good now put it on tvOS you idiots.
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tfresquezdxs said:
I am more excited to see if it will work with steamlink. Steamlink is great but the on screen controls or the few controllers you can buy that work with iOS are not great.
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It works with Steam Link, I was playing earlier in the beta. Steam Link even shows you have a ds4 or xbox controller connected in the UI, almost like they had insider knowledge...
 
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Moonlight is another app for PC users, also Steamlink.

I don't see the point of streaming PS games to an iPhone and still having to hold the controller. If Sony really want to amaz me, then release an iPhone case with controllers.
 
At the moment the Xbox or DS4 controller connected only has MFi spec - so the touchpad, PS, and share buttons do not work. Apple may or may not fix this, they seem more concerned about letting you use the controller for tvOS and iOS games so I wouldn’t hold my breath.
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212rikanmofo said:
It's not just limited to the X-Box One "S" controller, it also works with the non-S version. I have a X-Box One controller that I use with Windows 10 and it works as well.
Click to expand...
I think they just meant Xbox controllers that support Bluetooth - the early versions did not.
 
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tfresquezdxs said:
I am more excited to see if it will work with steamlink. Steamlink is great but the on screen controls or the few controllers you can buy that work with iOS are not great.
Click to expand...

ersan191 said:
Good now put it on tvOS you mongoloids.
[doublepost=1559740276][/doublepost]
It works with Steam Link, I was playing earlier in the beta. Steam Link even shows you have a ds4 or xbox controller connected in the UI, almost like they had insider knowledge...
Click to expand...

Yeah my wireless XBox controller for PC was detected and worked instantly with the SteamLink app. Works quite nicely too. The only thing is the lag, which for me is quite high when streaming from my PC, not sure why.

I really like that Apple is opening up iOS for gaming, especially given Apple's line of products. Lots of interesting use cases with iPhones and iPads (iPad Pro gaming!). It's a game changer... no pun intended. :)
 
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iReality85 said:
Yeah my wireless XBox controller for PC was detected and worked instantly with the SteamLink app. Works quite nicely too. The only thing is the lag, which for me is quite high when streaming from my PC, not sure why.

I really like that Apple is opening up iOS for gaming, especially given Apple's line of products. Lots of interesting use cases with iPhones and iPads (iPad Pro gaming!). It's a game changer... no pun intended. :)
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I got some lag with the DS4 but not the Xbox controller for whatever reason. Yeah this is a pretty big deal and Apple Arcade is the best we could have hoped for (cross platform on literally everything Apple makes with a big budget). If it flops Apple is probably going to abandon gaming forever though. I’ll be first in line to sign up.
 
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MrMichaelJames said:
I've used the remote play app on my local network on my laptop as well as over the internet to connect home and it worked really well.
Click to expand...
Yeah but what games were you playing.
To say it worked well is meaningless considering the poster you quoted mentioned specific types of games.
 
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