DualSense haptics and adaptive triggers in PS5 Remote Play on PC and Mac
The DualSense’s haptics and adaptive triggers can work when you stream a PS5 to a computer, but it depends on the app, the cable and the operating system. This page collects what Sony and the main Remote Play apps document, checked on 24 October 2026.
Why haptics usually need a USB cable
- The haptics are played like sound. A Sony engineer’s Linux driver commit explains that the DualSense’s voice-coil haptics require “PCM data (or special HID packets using Bluetooth)”.
- Over USB, apps send that audio to the controller. chiaki-ng’s haptics developer describes them as “a semi-continuous audio stream”, resampled “from 3KHz to 48KHz and sent as raw PCM to the DualSense audio device”.
- Over Bluetooth, an app needs those special packets. Most apps don’t send them and play the haptics as ordinary rumble instead.
Adaptive triggers are different: they are settings sent to the controller, so apps can apply them over USB or Bluetooth.
What each app supports
| App | Haptics | Adaptive triggers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| PS Remote Play (Sony) on Mac | With a USB cable | When the game supports them | Needs a PSN account |
| PS Remote Play (Sony) on Windows | Not stated in Sony’s Windows guide | When the game supports them | The controller connects by USB |
| chiaki-ng | USB only | USB or Bluetooth | Opt-in, marked experimental |
| PXPlay | USB, and Bluetooth since version 3.0.0 | Yes | Paid app |
| Orbit Play | USB; over Bluetooth they become rumble | USB or Bluetooth | New in 0.4.0, for jailbroken PS5s |
- Sony: the Mac guide says that with a DualSense connected by USB “you can experience haptic feedback”. Sony adds that haptics and adaptive triggers “are only available when those features are supported by the game”, and that DualSense features “vary when using remote play” on Android, PC, Mac, iPhone or iPad.
- PS4 games: in PS4 games streamed with Remote Play, “haptic feedback is replaced with basic rumble and adaptive triggers are not supported”.
- chiaki-ng: its controller guide lists “Haptics (DualSense only, must be attached via USB)” and “Adaptive triggers (DualSense only, USB or bluetooth)”. Its configuration page says these features are opt-in “since these features are currently experimental”. It can also turn haptics into rumble for controllers without them.
- PXPlay: version 3.0.0 “Added DualSense haptic feedback over Bluetooth”, and 3.1.0 applies “the adaptive trigger strength set on the PlayStation”. Its Mac help page still describes the USB setup below.
Set up haptics on a Mac
macOS treats a USB DualSense as an audio device. chiaki-ng and PXPlay both say to set it to four channels, which carry the haptics:
- Connect the DualSense to the Mac with a USB cable.
- Open Audio MIDI Setup: press Cmd+Space and type its name.
- Select the DualSense Wireless Controller output device and choose Configure Speakers.
- In the configuration menu, choose the four-channel Quadraphonic layout, then Apply.
- Restart your Remote Play app if it was already open.
Apple’s guide covers configuring speakers in Audio MIDI Setup; the steps above follow chiaki-ng’s and PXPlay’s Mac instructions.
Windows and Linux
- Plug in the cable before the stream starts, so the app finds the controller’s audio device. chiaki-ng also picks it up when the controller is plugged in during a session.
- Linux: chiaki-ng says “pipewire is required for DualSense haptics”.
- The game decides. If a game doesn’t use haptics or adaptive triggers on a PS5, no app can add them.
With Orbit Play
Orbit Play 0.4.0 plays rumble and adaptive triggers on a DualSense, and haptics through the controller’s audio device when it’s connected by USB; over Bluetooth they become rumble. Choose the rumble strength or turn triggers off under Playback → Controller feedback, as described in rumble, triggers and haptics. On a Mac, set the controller to four channels as above.
Sources
- Sony: PS Remote Play for Mac, PS Remote Play for Windows, Remote Play overview and PC accessories.
- The DualSense haptics Linux driver commit.
- chiaki-ng: controlling, configuration, releases and issue 14.
- PXPlay: Mac help and release notes.
- Apple: Audio MIDI Setup speakers.