During the beta version of MacOS Big Sur 11.3, Apple refined and improved the way iPad and iPhone applications run on M1 Macs. In the latest beta, Apple has added game controller emulation for M1 devices, allowing a keyboard or keyboard and mouse combination to work as a game controller.
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The new game controller feature was discovered by MacRumors collaborator Steve Moser. When you run an iPhone or iPad application, opening preferences displays a Touch Alternatives and Game Control interface that can be used to make -iPhone and iPad applications work better with Mac commands.
With the controller emulation enabled, the usual game controller buttons are mapped to the keyboard keys and mouse buttons. X, for example, is mapped to Q, the direction button 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 button A.
The controller emulation will allow the iPhone and iPad games that support the controller to be precisely controlled with the keyboard and / or mouse when these games are played on a Mac M1. This feature is designed for those who do not have a game controller because those who can only connect it to a controller to play.
MacOS 11.3 Big Sur beta also includes the Touch Alternatives panel mentioned above for mapping touch-based features such as touch, swipe, swipe, and tilt to keyboard keys, and has a feature for enlarging iPhone and iPad application windows.
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Controller emulation and touch alternatives work independently of each other and only one of these features can be activated simultaneously.
In terms of game controller support, 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.