No xCloud, no problem – you can now stream games from your Xbox to your Android mobile device
Microsoft’s cloud streaming service launched this month for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers, but South Africa didn’t make the party list. As a sort of consolation prize, however, we can use the new Remote Play streaming service instead. It’s the same, but different but kind of the same. But also different.
With xCloud, users stream content from Microsoft’s cloud servers over the internet. With Remote Play, users stream content from their Xbox One console over a wi-fi or mobile internet connection. Different, but same.
It works much like Xbox One to PC streaming, by projecting the console’s display on your Android device – although the controller can be synced to the console or your phone. I also managed to link up to my Xbox One over a mobile internet connection, but without local Xbox Live servers and data bouncing to and from the EU instead, the latency is baaaaad. This isn’t a problem on my 300+Mbps home wi-fi network, though, and if there’s latency, it’s inconsequential.
THE MUST-HAVES
- A phone or tablet with Android version 6.0+ and Bluetooth version 4.0+
- An Xbox console, Microsoft account, and compatible Xbox controller
- The Xbox app
- A wi-fi or mobile internet connection with a minimum download speed of 10Mbps
THE HOW-TO
- Download the Xbox Beta app on Google Play, sign into your account, and connect to your Xbox
- EZPZ!
What about iOS? That’s in beta, and sign-ups are unavailable at the moment.