Connecting the Xbox or PlayStation controller to your Mac to enjoy your favorite video games is something that we all already know and that is very easy to do. However, using it as a remote control device is something else, but with Controlly you can do it.
How to connect a game controller to your Mac
Connecting any video game controller with Bluetooth connectivity to an Apple device is quite simple. Logically, it must offer support for the recognition of the buttons to be correct, but it basically consists of activating the pairing mode and accessing it from the macOS Bluetooth settings.
Depending on whether it is the Xbox or PlayStation controller, the process may vary a bit, but only to the part where you have to press the appropriate button on each of them to start the pairing process.
Of course, this connection between both devices is solely and exclusively for using the controller in games that support this type of control. That is, all those available on platforms such as Apple Arcade, Steam and the like that offer titles for Mac. But what if we wanted to use the gamepad for more than just playing.
What is Controlly
Controlly is an application available on the App Store that has been developed to meet precisely that need to be able to control Apple’s desktop operating system with a game controller. Thus, with the analog sticks you can move the course around the desktop and with the buttons perform other actions that will be completely customizable by the user.
Thus, thanks to this utility, Microsoft and Sony controls, both those of previous generations and the recent Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 can be used without any problem. And this is very useful and practical for all types of users, even those who have some kind of mobility-related disability.
To use Controlly you just have to download the application when you start it. Yes you have to know that it is essential to allow it from System Preferences> Accessibility that it can control the operating system . Only then will you be able to use your remote with this application and assign any type of action to its buttons, crosshairs and analog sticks. You can even assign keyboard combinations to it.
For example, with it you can access Mission Control, the Application Launcher, show your desktop, increase or decrease the volume and even brightness on the screen, move the cursor, main click, right click and everything that to a certain extent you do each day with your keyboard, mouse or trackpad.
A help for users with disabilities
If there is one thing that Apple has been working on seriously in recent years, it is everything related to accessibility. Both macOS and iOS and iPadOS offer numerous options that allow to improve the user experience for all those users who have some type of disability.
With Controlly, those who suffer from some type of impediment that allows them to handle a keyboard and mouse with ease will be able to have an additional option to those that macOS already offers, such as VoiceOver and the like.
Therefore, this little tool is also very useful for all of them. In addition, being compatible with Xbox controllers it could also be used with the Xbox Adaptive Controller . So for many it would be even easier to access and control the Mac when they want to do more than play on it.
How to get Controlly
Controlly is an application available on the Mac App Store that you can download for free and try for seven days. After that time you will be able to unlock it to use without any restriction or to do it right from the first moment if you are convinced that it is the application you were looking for through integrated purchases and with a single payment.
So, if you were looking for an option similar to this, here you have it. Now it’s just a matter of installing and configuring each and every one of the options it offers depending on which game control you use with it. Because the Xbox controller will not be the same as the PlayStation controller that has a trackpad.
I wanted to use a game controller as a remote for Mac, but I couldn’t find an app for that. So I’ve built one myself and it’s now available on the App Store 🎮🥳: https://t.co/HEkFXUtMeL
Special thanks to @siracusa for finding an interesting bug just before launch! pic.twitter.com/2QVwvZjjvI
– Hugo Lispector (@hugolispector) February 8, 2021
In this video shared by the developer of the application you can see how it works. Its usefulness will be much clearer to you, although we have no doubt that you have already understood perfectly what it is for.