iOS And iPadOS 14.5 Will Finally Support The PS5 DualSense Controller Via PS Remote Play

If you have been utilizing the PS Remote Play to stream your PlayStation 5 gaming to your iPhone or iPad over the past few months, and disappointed that you can only connect your PS4 DualShock 4 controller via Bluetooth to your Apple device, this upcoming update should bring a smile to your face.

Apple has just started sending out the iOS/iPadOS 14.5 update to beta testers on 1 February, and among the list of changes include support for the PS5 DualSense and Xbox Series X controllers. Yay! Gone are the days when you have to whip out your good ol’ PS4 controller (or even buy one).

In case you didn’t know or have not tried out PS Remote Play on your shiny new PS5 console yet, you’ll be happy to know that significant improvements have been made to the iOS/iPadOS and Android apps to deliver a far smoother and consistent stream as compared to a connection with the PS4 previously. So much so that you can even run the stream at 1080p with HDR enabled with no noticeable frame drops.

For easy reference, here is the current usage experience with the PS Remote Play app for attempting to stream your PS5 console on other devices.

Platform	Resolution	Frame Rate	Controller Support
iOS / iPadOS	360p to 1080p with HDR support	up to 60 fps	PS4 controller, wirelessly
Android	360p to 1080p with HDR support	up to 60 fps	PS4 controller, wirelessly
Windows PC / Mac	360p to 1080p with HDR support	between 24 to 30 fps	Up to PS5 controller but needs to be connected via USB cable

As a PS5 owner who has personally clocked several hours of Immortals Fenyx Rising on the console, I was able to achieve a consistent, silky smooth 60fps on 1080p resolution with HDR enabled, running the game on remote play on an iPad Pro 2018. Do note that this is done using a 2-node Wi-Fi 6 mesh router setup, with the PS5 console connected via Wi-Fi as well.

Here is the configuration used to achieve the above results:

• Wireless Internet Connection: ZenWiFi AX (XT8) Wi-Fi 6 mesh router between the PS5 Digital Edition (in living room) and iPad Pro 2018 (in study room, located 2 rooms away)
• PS Remote App Settings: 1080p resolution with HDR enabled.
• Controller: PS4 DualShock 4 controller connected via Bluetooth to the iPad Pro. Unfortunately there is no force feedback support on iPad OS 14.4.
• Results: A consistent 60 fps with no drop in video streaming quality, consistently silky smooth gameplay for hours on end.

A Wi-Fi 6 router is a definite must if your PS5 console is connected wirelessly. After all, the PS5 supports Wi-Fi 6, so it would serve you well to upgrade to a Wi-Fi 6 router this year to fully unleash its wireless online connectivity prowess.

With the eventual release of iOS/iPad OS 14.5 in the coming weeks or months, we should be expecting full haptic feedback support (though not specifically stated by Apple) when running the latest next-gen games using the PS5 DualSense controller.

But until then, we’ll have to settle for the trusty old PS4 controller which works out perfectly well, minus the force feedback.