How to use Nintendo Joy-Cons with iPhone, iPad, Apple TV

The Nintendo Switch is a revolutionary gaming device. It has been around for a while, and while gamers are enjoying its benefits, some may not have much of an idea of ​​its compatibility and versatility. So, I’m going to give more information about the device and how to use Nintendo Joy-Cons with iPhone, iPad and Apple TV. With Nintendo compatible with Apple devices, your gaming fun won’t end prematurely!

About Nintendo Switch

The Nintendo Switch was released in 2017 and quickly became one of the most popular gaming consoles of all time. The quality of the games it supported and its portability made it a favorite with old and new gamers alike. You could connect a Nintendo Switch to your Smart TV, or even play games on the console itself, making it one of the few hybrid consoles in the gaming world.

Switch handheld mode uses two detachable controllers called Joy-Cons. You can use them together for single player or give one of the controllers to your friend to enjoy multiplayer and co-op games. By the end of 2017 alone, over 320 games had been released for the Nintendo Switch, and today this console is one of the most popular gaming devices in the world.

Why use Joy-Con with Apple devices?

Since games like Call of Duty: Mobile, Apex Legends, and PUBG are staples of the mobile gaming scene, your iPhone or iPad might not be the best device to play these games. The small iPhone screen isn’t ideal for touch controls. What’s more, the design of the iPad’s screen also makes it difficult for small hands to operate.

The gamepad format can be an easier way to use these devices, and it can improve your mobile gaming experience. However, mobile gamepads like the Razer Kishi can hit the pocket hard. Instead of buying an entire controller just for your mobile device, you can use your Nintendo Switch’s Joy-Con to keep playing without the need for an additional purchase.

Other controllers, such as the PlayStation DualSense controller or the Xbox wireless controller, are also more difficult to acquire. What’s more, their usefulness will remain limited to your mobile games unless you have the mainstream consoles to accompany them. However, with the Nintendo Joy-Con, you get both a hybrid console and connectivity options. This makes them the best option in terms of gaming.

How to connect Joy-Con to iPhone?

The Nintendo Switch Joy-Con allows you to connect one of the controllers to your iPhone individually, or pair them both together. Based on your gaming requirements, you can move on. Thanks to Apple’s advances in iOS 16, your iPhone will treat both Joy-Con controllers as part of a single controller. Now let’s see how to connect Joy-Con to your iPhone.

How to connect Joy-Con to iPad?

The iPad’s powerful hardware and large screen make it the perfect candidate for mobile gaming. Luckily, you can connect the Joy-Con to your iPad for an excellent gaming experience. The steps for this are similar to those for connecting the controllers to your iPhone. So it shouldn’t give you any trouble. However, let’s go through the steps below:

1. Make sure your iPad has all the latest software updates (iPadOS 16) downloaded and installed.
2. Open your iPad’s Bluetooth connection settings and turn it on.
3. Take your Joy-Con and turn it over to the inside. Locate the small black button on the body of the Joy-Con, press and hold it until the LED on the Joy-Con starts flashing.
4. Return to your iPad and check the list of available devices. There you should find Joy-Con.
5. Select the Joy-Con option from the list of available devices and the iPad should automatically pair with the controller. If the pairing is successful, the LED on the Joy-Con will stop flashing and become static.
6. Repeat the process for another Joy-Con to pair them with your iPad.

How to connect Joy-Con to Apple TV?

Apple TV also provides a great gaming option for those looking to immerse themselves in casual gaming. With so many games available from both the Apple Store and Apple Arcade, gaming on Apple TV has never been more accessible. To make your gaming experience even better, you can connect your Joy-Con to your Apple TV and get more control over your gaming scenarios. Let’s check the following steps:

1. Before you continue, make sure you have tvOS 16 installed on your Apple TV.
2. Go to the Apple TV home screen and look for the Remotes option.
3. Under the “Remotes”section, you should also find the “Devices”option. Select it.
4. Find the Bluetooth segment and turn it on for Apple TV.
5. Now take the first Joy-Con you want to connect and turn it to the side. On the inside you should find a black Pairing button.
6. Press and hold the button until the LED indicator on the Joy-Con starts flashing.
7. Go to your Apple TV settings and look for the name Joy-Con in the list of available devices.
8. Click on the name and the pairing should be successful. If the Joy-Con LED has stopped blinking and is solid or static, the controller is connected to Apple TV.
9. Repeat the process for another Joy-Con if you need to connect them both to your Apple TV.

Disabling the Nintendo Joy-Con

If you want to disable or disable Joy-Cons from your iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV, the process is quite simple. All you have to do is go to the device settings section, go to the Bluetooth option and look for the Joy-Con name in the list of connected devices. Select the blue info icon and you should see a Disable option. Click on this and your Joy-Cons will be disconnected from your Apple device.

Joy-Con setup

Given the sheer number of games available on the Apple App Store and Apple Arcade, quite a few of them have controller support. This is not surprising as more and more people are using controllers for mobile gaming. Apple recognized this and added a dedicated game controller menu that is activated if you have connected the controller to your Apple device.

This menu allows you to customize the controls for each game you play with the Joy-Con. Since many games have different controls and game mechanics, the same configuration for all games can result in an awkward gaming experience. So, if you want to customize the controls, you can do it quite easily.

To customize your Joy-Con controls on your iPad or iPhone, go to the Settings menu. From there, go to the General section and look for the Game Controller option. This option will only be available if you connect the device to the controllers. The menu will allow you to create multiple controller profiles based on the different game controllers you have connected to in the past and the games you are currently playing.

To set up the controller scheme on your Apple TV, you will need to go to the Bluetooth menu. From there, you can select the game controller paired with your Apple TV and make changes or create game control profiles to your liking. Pretty simple, right?

Final Thoughts

Now that you have a better understanding of how to connect your Joy-Con to your iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV, you should have a much better gaming experience. Thanks to Apple’s efforts to add compatibility, you should also have no problem adjusting control schemes based on the different controllers you use and the games you play. If you have additional suggestions, let me know in the comments below!