Fortnite v7.30 Update Adds Bluetooth Controller Support For Mobile Devices And More

by Brandon Hill — Tuesday, January 29, 2019, 10:07 AM EDT

Epic Games just pushed out the v7.30 update for its hugely popular Fortnite battle royale game, which brings with it a number of changes, new weapons, bugfixes and performance improvements. However, the most important update is for mobile users, and that comes in the form of official support for Bluetooth gaming controllers.

Just the fact that Fortnite is able to run reasonably well on Android and iOS smartphones is quite the achievement; especially so with the iPhone XR, iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max which can run the game at a steady 60 fps. But controlling the game -- even with the rather expansive 6.5-inch display of the iPhone XS Max -- using on-screen controls is just not as productive as using a mouse/keyboard or a gamepad on PCs and consoles.

That's why today's update is so important to mobile Fortnite gamers. On the Android side of things, Epic Games says that most available Bluetooth game controllers will work including the Xbox One Wireless Controller, SteelSeries Stratus XL, Gamevice, Razer Raiju and Moto Gamepad. For iOS users, support is limited to devices that are MFi certified, which include the SteelSeries Nimbus, SteelSeries Stratus XL and Gamevice.

Epic Games notes that if you have a controller hooked up, your smartphone’s vibration effects will be turned off. In addition, the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, Huawei Honor View 20 and Huawei Mate 20 X are also gaining 60Hz support like the 2018 iPhone family. We only expect this list to grow even larger as this year’s Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 flagships start flooding the market.

Since we’re talking primarily about the mobile version of Fortnite, here are some other changes with the v7.30 update that are specific to smartphone users:

Fixed an issue causes players to be unable to build multiple structure types while simultaneously holding down the build button and changing build types.
Fixed Harvesting Tool button no longer swaps back to the previously selected weapon
Fixed Multiple simultaneous button presses on mobile can disable the fire button
Fixed No padlock icon appears on the directional pad when locking with auto-run on mobile.
Fixed Several UI buttons having lower resolution than the other buttons.

Everyone is gaining access to the new Chiller Grenade, which looks like the head of a snowman (complete with X’s for eyes). When the grenade explodes, it will knock player back making the slide across the ground for a total of 7 seconds, and it drops in bundles of 3.

Tags: Android, Epic Games, Bluetooth, ios, fortnite

Brandon Hill

Brandon received his first PC, an IBM Aptiva 310, in 1994 and hasn’t looked back since. He cut his teeth on computer building/repair working at a mom and pop computer shop as a plucky teen in the mid 90s and went on to join AnandTech as the Senior News Editor in 1999. Brandon would later help to form DailyTech where he served as Editor-in-Chief from 2008 until 2014. Brandon is a tech geek at heart, and family members always know where to turn when they need free tech support. When he isn’t writing about the tech hardware or studying up on the latest in mobile gadgets, you’ll find him browsing forums that cater to his long-running passion: automobiles.

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