Gaming on Android has expanded greatly over the years as have the accessories being used with Android phones and tablets. Now, it seems that Android is preparing the ability for game controllers to use rumble features with the operating system.
As noted by the folks over at XDA-Developers, an issue tracker for the ability to support rumble on game controllers connected to Android devices has recently been reopened.
That thread was originally opened in March of 2019 and this April it was closed as “Won’t Fix (Obsolete).” Just this week, though, a Googler jumped back into the thread and left a somewhat encouraging message:
Thanks for the feedback. The feature will be considered for a future release.
There’s still no guarantee that this will indeed arrive, but it sounds like Google is at least willing to consider it. While some developers have put together hacky ways to handle rumble on games by vibrating the device itself, the controller hasn’t been possible. That’s important for Android TV which is focused more and more on gaming as of late. There are other ways around the restriction, too, such as the Stadia Controller which connects to Wi-Fi and to the game’s stream to still use rumble. That’s not applicable for games running locally, though.
If this feature does arrive, it’s likely that it will be restricted to newer versions of Android as well as only working with select controllers. In any case, there’s hope, and that’s great news.
More on Android:
- Sony’s new PS5 controller works with Android but not without some issues
- Facebook Gaming begins streaming Android games from the cloud
- Razer Kishi Review: Perfectly portable, unfortunately uncomfortable
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