Microsoft’s controller has had Bluetooth for two years and has “worked” on Android since then. The impact of the controller being available on any Bluetooth device is huge. Instantly the Xbox One S pad became the best controller you can get for Android. Or, it should have been instant. The problem for two years has been the configuration was all wrong. Buttons on the pad were assigned wrong, making it a pain in the ass to use. XDA-developers reports Google has got its act together and reconfigured the pad on Android Pie. The company’s latest (9th) version of Android rolled out earlier this month and the Xbox One S pad is fully supported. Of course, by fully supported I mean it now just works.
Fortnite in the title, pure clickbait, right? Well not quite as this news ties into the current global gaming phenom. You may already know Fortnite on Android does not support Bluetooth controllers. You may also know the game is a fiddly mess when playing with virtual touch controls. Luckily, Epic Games has confirmed support for Bluetooth controllers is on the way. The company has not confirmed exactly when, but its coming. Problem Heading back to Android Pie, it is worth remembering one important fact about Google’s platform… it is fragmented. Many smartphones will not be getting Pie until months from now, while many will simply never get the upgrade. It is unclear whether Google will change the Xbox One S configuration on other Android versions. We hope so, otherwise this becomes a rather exclusive fix.
