Amazon recently announced a cloud gaming service called Luna which will be on iOS in addition to other platforms. The iOS version will be available through the web browser instead of a native application. Apple has been very inconsistent and made things very difficult for any sort of game streaming on iOS over the years. It took Steam Link a long time to show up on iOS as well. With the situation for xCloud looking grim thanks to Apple’s restrictions and even the new “rules" that would make things awful for end users, new reports from Business Insider and The Verge give iOS users some hope for xCloud on iOS and iPadOS. Microsoft is working on a direct browser-based solution to bring xCloud on iOS and iPad OS in early 2021. The company is also still developing an app in the hope that Apple will eventually hopefully approve. Microsoft showcased Minecraft Dungeons with touch controls through its game streaming recently. Check out the video below:
In an internal meeting, Phil Spencer said that Microsoft will absolutely end up on iOS and that he is feeling good about the progress made for iPhone and iPad. Microsoft is moving full speed ahead with streaming on Android. All promotion for Xbox Game Pass now also mentions Android for when a game is available on xCloud. In an ideal world it would just say mobile but Apple decided to deny iOS and iPadOS users from one of the better subscription service benefits available right now. With Amazon Luna already doing this, it is going to be interesting to see if Apple tries to do anything to hinder game streaming through browser-based workarounds. As of now, you’re better off buying an Android device if you really want to stream Xbox games right now. xCloud is also aiming for a PC release in 2021 with a preview version in testing. Have you tried xCloud through any of the previews?
[Source: Business Insider and The Verge]
“...Apple’s restrictions and even the new “rules" that would make things awful for end users“
You have no idea what you are talking about and you are spreading false claims. Apple’s rules applying to game streaming are not awful for end users. Recent rules add more work for developers, but for the end user they actually make the whole experience better than originally intended.
For example Microsoft’s original implementation wouldn’t allow individual games to be discovered through App-Store search, individual games couldn’t be shown on the top-list and there couldn’t be parental control on game to game bases.
New rules also makes it possible to have app-launchers for individual games, but if you want you can just go to XCloud-app and launch the game from there. It’s your choice. And yes, rules actually makes it mandatory to have individual launchers for each game you play, but if you don’t like app-icon clutter, IOS14 makes it possible to hide those unwanted icons in the app-library.
In the end, there would be more options and better discoverybility.
Good. If true, then this would likely make xCloud playable on Linux, which wasn't something Microsoft was interested in before. Also, an always-online service which doesn't integrate with your system doesn't need to be an app when we have browsers.