Microsoft's Xbox App Now Lets Xbox Users Stream Games to iPhone and iPad

Microsoft today released an updated version of its Xbox app designed for the iPhone and the iPad, which will allow Xbox users to play their games remotely on their Apple devices using streaming functionality.

Microsoft has been testing this feature for a few weeks, first providing it to Xbox app beta testers back in September. From the app's release notes:

- Set up new consoles and queue games
- Play remotely from your console
- View and share game clips & screenshots
- Party chat with friends across devices

Have a look around the new app. More awesomeness is on the way!

The new Xbox streaming option is different than Microsoft's xCloud service, which is not yet available on Apple's devices due to Apple's restrictions on cloud gaming. xCloud is meant to stream games from Microsoft's servers directly, while the Xbox streaming option requires users to connect their devices to their Xbox consoles.

Microsoft's updated Xbox app is similar to the PS4 Remote Play app that Sony offers on the iPhone and the ‌iPad‌. Like the Xbox app, Remote Play allows PlayStation users to play their PS4 games over WiFi on an Apple device.

The Xbox app streaming feature works outside of the home, letting Xbox owners access and play their games from the Xbox when not at home. According to the app's release notes, the streaming feature requires an Xbox One or Xbox Series X/S that's activated or in Instant-On mode along with a 5GHz WiFi connection or LTE/5G connection that provides 10Mb/s download speeds.

Any Xbox game installed on a compatible Xbox can be streamed with the exception of backward compatible titles from Xbox 360 or the original Xbox.

The Xbox app can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]