You Can Now Play Xbox Games On iOS Via The Xbox App

Microsoft’s new Xbox app is now available on the App Store, free of cost, for devices running iOS 10 and above. The app brings a new feature called “Remote Play” that allows users to play their Xbox games on iOS devices.

The Remote Play feature allows you to stream the games running on your Xbox console directly to your iPhone or iPad. This new feature is similar to PlayStation‘s Remote Play app that streams PS4 games to third-party devices.

Since the Remote Play feature uses the internet for streaming Xbox’s video output and for registering your phone’s real-time input, it works best on a fast internet connection. Xbox’s official site recommends a 5GHz WiFi or a mobile data download speed of 10 Mbps.

Players on a slow connection may struggle with input delay or lag. These are the same issues that plague the PS Remote Play app too.

Moreover, you can use your Xbox controller for playing games on the Xbox app. Microsoft also offers a controller attachment to mount your phone, giving you a typical handheld device feel.

Although this option also uses streaming to run your Xbox titles, it is not the same as Microsoft’s xCloud service. Unlike Remote Play, you don’t need to own an Xbox console to play games on xCloud. In this case, the Xbox games are streamed remotely from Microsoft’s warehouse that stores the hardware the game actually runs on.

The xCloud service is not available on the App Store, but Microsoft plans to provide access to iOS users using a web-based solution. The website will go live in the first half of 2021, as reported by The Verge.

The Xbox fans would agree that the Remote Play feature for iOS was long overdue and enhances the overall Xbox gaming experience.