This could be pretty cool.
Throughout the various releases of the macOS Big Sur 11.3 beta, Apple has apparently been working on a means of refining and improving the way iOS and iPadOS apps run on M1-based Macs. In the recent beta, Apple has added game controller emulation for M1 devices, allowing a keyboard or a keyboard and mouse combo to function as a game controller.
The feature, which was discovered by nifty human being Steve Moser, detects when an iOS or iPadOS app is being run, and upon opening up the preferences, can bring 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 the Controller Emulation feature activated, common game controller buttons are mapped to keyboard keys and mouse buttons. X, for example, is mapped to Q, the direction stick is mapped to WASD, and Y is mapped to E. L1 and L2 can be accessed by pressing Tab and Shift, respectively, and the Space Bar is the A button. The feature is designed for those who don’t have a game controller, or don’t want to connect their controller to play a game.
The Touch Alternatives panel also includes features for mapping touch-based features like tap, swipe, drag, and tilt to keyboard keys, and it has a feature for making iPhone and iPad app windows larger.
Controller Emulation and Touch Alternatives work independently of one another, and only one of these features can be enabled at a time.
Per game controller support, it appears that many current controllers from Sony and Microsoft are compatible with M1 Macs, and the beta adds support for the latest PlayStation 5 and Xbox One X controllers.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via MacRumors and @SteveMoser