Did you know that you can pair your PS5 and Xbox controllers with your smartphone? Using bluetooth, they can wirelessly pair to play games like Call of Duty on the go. Read more in this article from TechRadar.
“The new consoles are finally out, and if you’ve been lucky enough to snag one, you’re now the proud owners of new controllers. This might not be the first question you ask, but eventually, you might want to know: will the PS5 and Xbox Series X controllers work with my smartphone?
The short answer is: yes, both will work with your smartphone, just like the last-gen PS4 DualShock 4 and Xbox One controllers both worked wirelessly with phones. In fact, the process seems largely the same to link up the new controllers to your handsets. Thanks, Sony and Microsoft!
Keep in mind that neither company has expressly announced compatibility between their new console controllers and modern smartphones – but anecdotal evidence has shown that they connect just the same. Unfortunately, we’ve heard that the Xbox Series X controllers may connect to iOS devices but have no functionality; official Xbox support states that ‘Apple iOS support for the new Xbox Wireless Controller is coming, but it won’t be available at launch on November 10.’
We expect official documentation to come out soon, but in the meantime, here’s how to connect your PS5 and Xbox Series X/S controllers to your smartphone.
What you’ll need to get started
Thankfully, this is pretty easy: you only need your smartphone and your controller of choice. If you want to be safe, get a cord that works between the two – a USB-C to USB-C for most modern Android smartphones or a USB-C to Lightning cable for modern iPhones.
Without official documentation from either company on compatibility requirements for phones, we’ll run off what you need to hook up last-generation’s PS4 and Xbox One controllers to a handset. Make sure to upgrade your phone’s OS to at least Android 10 or iOS 13, and to be safe, the absolute latest version of Android 11 or iOS 14.
