Xbox Cloud Beta - iOS - Tech From Dad

The Xbox Cloud Beta on iOS

I can’t tell you how long my friends and I have joked about an “Xbox Mobile” I’m talking about years and years ago. Hopes and jokes that Xbox would release a mobile product to play Halo, Call of Duty, etc while on the go, think PS Vita. Well in 2019 when Microsoft announced Xbox Cloud I was super excited! I’m an iPhone user so that excitement went away fairly quickly when Xbox pulled away from the App Store because of how Apple charges for in-app purchases and usage. In 2020 a beta program began for Safari on iOS. I submitted quickly to be part of the beta but I didn’t end up seeing it until a few months ago.

Now that I’m in the beta and playing, I have thoughts on this product. First of all, before I get into what I like and what I don’t I want to make it very clear that I totally understand this is a beta and they are constantly updating it.

What You Need for Xbox Cloud Beta

There are obviously a few things that you need to get this up and running. Head on over to Xbox to find out more, but below are the high-level items to get going with 100+ games on the go!

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Membership
A Compatible Device or Browser
Compatible Controller
High-Speed Internet Connection

Xbox Cloud on iPhone with red Xbox controller

What I Like

First of all, my absolute favorite thing is that I can play a great number of Xbox games via my iPhone or iPad. I’ve done a bit of play while on 5G and it’s been pretty solid, that’s super promising. I can’t wait for road trips and getting to play some Madden or Halo on the go.

The fact that it’s web-based is potentially going to be a bonus in the long run. It’s nice to not depend on a developer to build out unique iPhone or iPad applications. So as Apple releases new devices, in theory, it should still work no matter what device you own.

For campaign or single-player-based games, it’s pretty stable, especially on good wifi. If I play the Halo campaign or franchise on Madden, most of the time I can get through a game without much lag if any. It’s not perfect and I’ll get to that in the What I Don’t Like.

I really like that I can use Xbox controllers. As a gamer I’m a huge fan of the Xbox controller, and have been since the first Xbox. I’m not a PC gamer, I have always been someone that enjoys the console experience and using an actual controller over a keyboard and mouse. So having that physical controller is fantastic (you can also use the DualShock and a number of 3rd party gaming controllers), touch input is available for some games but obviously not all.

What I Don’t Like

Again, this is a beta program and it’s constantly changing. So at the time of this post, these are the things I don’t like, it could very well change shortly after this post.

Even though it’s pretty solid most of the time, it’s not perfect. When the lag hits, oh boy does that lag hit hard. For me, I expect a bit of lag but when it’s an issue is when the UI and controls just stop working. I’ll be mid-game and the screen goes black, I can hear the audio, and nothing works. I end up killing safari and reloading the whole experience.

Touch games, I’ve only played a few of them, and frankly, that’s because (at least the ones I’ve played) they are rough. The games weren’t originally made to be tough games, so the input can be a bit odd.

Controller, ok I love the controller ability, especially with the touch issues. When the controller works and stays connected I love it, sometimes though the connection just doesn’t stick around. This is most likely a hardware issue with the controller and iPhone, but it’s part of the experience and it’s frustrating. It comes with an easy enough solution, jumping into the Bluetooth settings and reconnecting the Xbox controller.

Tech Being Used

I decided I should add a new section to these posts to highlight what you see in the photos or what I may talk about. Here is a list of the items I use related to Xbox Cloud on iOS.

Final Thoughts

I don’t get the chance to play games like I did in high school or college (let’s be fair, it was probably an unhealthy amount), but when I do I’m not always at home. That being said, even though this is a beta, I’m very excited for what it is and can become.

If you already have the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Membership I say it’s 100% worth applying for the beta and giving it a try. If you aren’t an Xbox user and don’t have the Ultimate level membership I can’t say it’s worth it yet. Xbox is upgrading the machines being used for cloud gaming to the Xbox Series X and as that happens there’s a big hope that things will be smoother and the experience will just become better overall.

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