In a tweet, Harrison Hoffman, Senior Program Manager for Xbox has officially announced the release of the Xbox app (Beta version) for iOS devices. This comes days after the app was announced for Android users. The app has numerable fresh features, in particular the remote play, which allows Android and iOS users to play any game installed on the Xbox console on their mobile device(s). You just have to make sure the Xbox console is turned on or configured using the Instant-on standby mode.
This feature on the iOS is a welcome surprise because earlier Microsoft wasn’t able to bring the Project xCloud services to the Apple ecosystem. With the Xbox Beta app landing on Apple’s TestFlight app, this spells good news for Xbox users who own an iPhone or iPad. It should however be noted that at the time of writing, the program (accepting 10,000 Beta testers) has been closed for now and you’ll have to roll in the next time it is available, once the inactive testers are removed.
Like the Android Xbox Beta app, the iOS version (supporting iOS 8 or later devices) too comes with the capability to share game screenshots and clips from the iPhone. The users can install the games remotely along with other nifty capabilities. Likewise, there is the unified notification center for better user experience and the interface of the app has a modern look and feel this time around.
The final version of the app should come with even more improvements as the testers register bugs, suggestions, and other inputs. Whether installing games remotely will make it to the final app is still uncertain given the stringent Apple App Store policies.