Xbox Cloud Gaming is now available for use from the iPhone and iPad via Safari. Microsoft has hit the power button of this game streaming service so that Windows 10, iPhone, and iPad users can play from the right browser. Those in Redmond have left behind the beta and open the service to the public with access to over a hundred Xbox Game Pass games.
Xbox Cloud Gaming comes to iPhone and iPad through Safari
With Xbox Cloud Gaming, users can forget about having the latest hardware, managing space on their device, or having to upgrade. This cloud service runs on Microsoft’s servers, which has taken the opportunity to announce the jump to custom Xbox X Series hardware on them. This is a major improvement, as until now it was based on that of the Xbox One S console.
All this translates into Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers are going to be able to play more than a hundred games from 22 countries through a Windows 10 PC, an iPhone, or an iPad. To do so, all you need to do is meet these requirements:
- Subscribe at Xbox.com/play.
- iOS or iPadOS 14.4 with Bluetooth 4.0 or higher.
- Internet connection of 10MB or 20MB per second, depending on whether it’s an iPhone or iPad.
- Some titles require a physical controller, such as the Xbox controller or Sony’s DualShock 4.
The cost of the subscription is 1 dollar for the first three months, after that, it is 12.99 euros per month. The playback quality is 1080p with up to 60fps, although they promise to improve it over time.
A service for Safari and not from the App Store
With the public launch of Xbox Cloud Gaming, many months of back and forth have come to an end. Initially, streaming gaming services were not allowed in Apple’s App Store. So Microsoft’s and other platforms such as Google’s Stadia had no place in it.
The issue is more complex than the typical “they don’t want them to compete with Apple Arcade”, because, as we know, it is a service with a completely different target audience and type of game. From Apple’s side, their concern is that each game can be reviewed, found, and downloaded as if it were an individual app. While on Microsoft’s side, they aspired to create a single app that would give access to the catalog. A kind of app store that is expressly forbidden by the App Store.
Apple ended up making changes to the App Store rules to accommodate these games so that they could be incorporated as individual apps (something that was not contemplated before). In Applesfera we already talked about how cloud gaming services also needed a place in the App Store. However, Microsoft they have preferred to opt for a way that allows them to deliver their service intact: Safari.
