How to pair your Xbox One controller with your iPhone or iPad to play Apple Arcade

Apple has just launched its brand new subscription service, Apple Arcade. For £4.99 a month you get access to over 100 games in the library including some fantastic titles such as Sayonara Wild Hearts and Overland. The best bit, though, is that the first month is free.

This means that you can have a console quality gaming experience on your iPhone or iPad, with Apple TV and MacOS support coming very soon.

Even better, you can pair your Xbox One controller to your device, and it’s very simple to do. Here’s how.

1. Ensure your Xbox One controller is model 1708 or newer. This is the Xbox One S controller. The original model isn’t supported.
2. If it’s a brand new controller hold the Xbox button and it will automatically start searching for devices. If it’s already paired, turn it on then hold the “sync” button for 5 seconds until the Xbox logo in the middle of the controller is flashing – this means it’s awaiting pairing.
3. With your iPhone (on iOS 13) or iPad, go to Settings > Bluetooth (make sure Bluetooth is turned on!) and you will see “Xbox Wireless Controller”. Touch it, and it’ll be connected.
4. To be 100% sure it is connected, the Xbox logo on the controller will be solid white.
5. Play games with PS4 Dualshock 4 on iPhone or iPad

In case you were wondering if the games are good, we’ve dropped two video reviews to show off some of the highlights.