The first Samsung Galaxy Unpacked virtual event gave us our first glimpse of several new devices, but the quieter news has been Samsung's partnership with Microsoft to bring Xbox gaming to flagship phones like the Galaxy Note 20. Powerful Samsung phones will support Xbox Games Pass and xCloud streaming which has made me in more of a rush for mobile gaming than before, even Google Stadia all have the same ambition with more following. Personally, that's a high bar – Google Stadia promised a lot, and I was excited to see its technology deliver console-quality gaming straight to your phone. But the restrictions on the Pixel and the very limited number of games supported, let alone available on its unlimited subscription model, have undermined its appeal. This week's Xbox Game Pass in Android News seemingly makes up for every one of Stadia's weaknesses: you'll be able to play on a host of Android devices (including tablets!), using a proven service that's only getting more robust. . You'll be able to choose from a library of over 100 games with more being added regularly, including upcoming titles like Halo Infinite. And heck, xCloud's beta launch on September 15 is just around the corner. It's encouraging that Microsoft's Phil Schiller showed up at Samsung Unpacked to promote the service, and essentially give a stamp of approval that Samsung's new flagships would be perfect for Game Pass Ultimate, but it's more reassuring to see a post. The official Xbox blog post introducing the line of third-party controllers and 'made for Xbox' phone clips should play nice with the game streaming service. Considering the wide range of Android phones that will theoretically be able to play Xbox titles via Game Pass Ultimate, having so many options and prices to play with a gamepad shows that Microsoft has been thinking about how to get gamers to play on the go. This is what got me most excited, because right now mobile gaming sucks.
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(Image credit: Microsoft)
How xCloud could help keep mobile gaming from sucking
We play phone games because it's convenient when we're away from home (or the couch), but pressing buttons on the screen is imprecise and frustrating, especially since it covers up the action. . While dragging around a controller and a phone clip is tedious, it's an undeniably better experience. And with Game Pass Ultimate, I can theoretically play with a lot more Android users, which could strengthen the mobile gaming community and avoid the "empty stadium" of Google Stadia, as The Verge described it in May. This includes my friends, who probably have Android phones that aren't Google Pixel phones; after all, the entire Pixel line shipped 7,2 million phones in 2019, via 9to5Google, versus 300 million sold by Samsung alone. last year, according to a study by counterpoint firm. In other words, most of them won't have to buy a Pixel phone to use Game Pass. For iPhone owners hoping to use xCloud on their Apple phone, the outlook is not bright: The xCloud app stopped working shortly after Samsung's unveiling, according to The Verge's Tom Warren, despite the preview's planned end. of xCloud iOS on September 11. It appears that the iPhone version of the app automatically expired after 90 days without an update under Apple's TestFlight rules, WindowsCentral reports. In other words: if you and I want to play xCloud on mobile, we'll probably only get it on an Android device. Some of my friends are already Game Pass Ultimate subscribers, and I am too, which lowers the barriers to trying these kinds of mobile games. If we already own an Xbox One controller, all that's left is to buy a clip and plug in an Android phone we already own. Yes, streaming console/computer games through your smartphone (or tablet) isn't traditional mobile gaming, but it could be the platform that adjusts the definition to include controller-activated games, if Microsoft's marriage between Game Pass and xCloud works. Most likely not, especially if xCloud's untested setup struggles to deliver smooth sessions over spotty connections or limited bandwidth. In that case, we'd go back to playing PUBG and MOBA and other games with demanding touch controls, with the promise of better gaming with controller-assisted precision always on the horizon. But I'm not quite ready to hit the reset button on this ambitious mobile gaming dream just yet.