Microsoft's Xbox Cloud Gaming service is officially launching today and is now available to be used on the iPhone and iPad through the Safari browser, says Microsoft.
As of today, Xbox Cloud Gaming is available to all Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members with Apple smartphones and tables and Windows 10 PC users. The service can be accessed by visiting xbox.com/play on Microsoft Edge, Chrome, or Safari on a mobile device or on PC.
Two weeks ago, Microsoft said that Xbox Cloud Gaming would be launching on Apple devices "in the next few weeks" following a limited beta test for a small number of users.
Xbox Cloud Gaming is designed to allow users to play hundreds of games from the Xbox Game Pass library on any device using a web browser. According to Microsoft, the service is now powered by Xbox Series X hardware in upgraded Microsoft data centers to deliver faster load times and improved framerates.
To ensure low latency, Microsoft plans to stream at 1080p at up to 60 frames per second, and the service is designed to offer seamless play across all devices. Using Xbox Cloud Gaming requires an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription, which is priced at $14.99 per month. New users can get a three month trial for $1.
Along with a full rollout of Xbox Cloud Gaming, Microsoft today announced that it is expanding its Designed for Xbox mobile gaming accessory lineup to iOS devices, with several new accessories available starting today.
The Xbox Backbone One, for example, is an iPhone-compatible gaming controller with built-in Xbox integrations such as a Capture Button for sharing gameplay moments. Microsoft is also touting the Razer Kishi Universal Gaming Controller for iOS and OtterBox Power Swap Controller Batteries.
Monday October 27, 2025 7:55 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more.
Below, we outline key details about iOS 26.1.
Release Date
Given that Apple has yet to seed an iOS 26.1 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, the...
Apple Maps could feature integrated ads as soon as next year, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports.
In his latest "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that Apple's plan to bring more ads to iOS is moving "gaining traction," with the Maps app being next in line. The project will apparently give restaurants and other businesses the option to pay to have their details featured more prominently in...
Monday October 27, 2025 4:51 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Apple is designing an updated version of the Apple TV 4K, and rumors suggest that it could come out sometime in the next couple of months. We're not expecting a major overhaul with design changes, but even a simple chip upgrade will bring major improvements to Apple's set-top box.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
We've rounded up all the latest Apple TV rumors.
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Friday October 24, 2025 2:30 pm PDT by Juli Clover
In the fourth iOS 26.1 beta, Apple added a "Tinted" option that reduces the translucency of Liquid Glass for those who prefer a more opaque look. I saw some comments wondering whether the setting might preserve battery life, so I thought I'd do some testing.
Test Settings
I did four separate tests using the iPhone 17 Pro Max, and I kept the parameters as similar as possible. Here are the...
Monday October 27, 2025 9:15 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple this month refreshed the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with its new M5 chip, and higher-end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips are expected to follow in early 2026. However, these machines will represent the final update to the current design, with Apple reportedly developing a completely new version of the MacBook Pro packed with next-generation hardware...
Wednesday October 22, 2025 6:15 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more.
iOS 26.1 is currently in beta testing. The update will likely be released in the first half of November, and it is compatible with the iPhone 11 series and newer, but some...
The first preview release of the Swift SDK for Android was published this week, allowing developers to build Android apps in Swift with official tooling and making it easier to share code across iOS and Android.
The SDK enables Android apps to be built in Swift using officially supported tooling rather than community workarounds. In June, it was announced that Apple's Swift programming...
Monday October 27, 2025 7:41 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
You will "soon" be able to add a digital version of your U.S. passport to your iPhone, according to Jennifer Bailey, vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet.
Bailey reiterated that the feature is coming soon during her keynote at the Money20/20 USA conference in Las Vegas on Sunday.
On its iOS 26 page, Apple says the delayed feature will be "coming later this year."
Apple's...
Monday October 27, 2025 4:01 pm PDT by Juli Clover
For the 10th anniversary iPhone that came out in 2017, Apple introduced the iPhone X with Face ID, notch, and minimized bezels, providing more display space than ever before. The 20th iPhone anniversary is approaching and Apple wants to take the iPhone X design even further.
We're two years away from the 2027 iPhone, but it's tough for Apple to keep major changes under wraps. We've rounded...
Why exactly should Apple’s tech and APIs be used for free? Please explain why they should do that?
Since when is Apple tech being used for free? Didn’t you buy your $high end$ devices and licensed the required OS for your use? Wasn’t the API licensed for use by devs already? Haven’t you bought the iPhone, iPad, Macbook or iMac to access apps and services you need or was just for you to travel around showing off how cool you look with an iPhone in your hand?
Jezzz. This is classic double dipping … aka selling exactly the same thing over and over and over again to the same person ... The “thing” is “to do what was supposed to do” when you bought in the first place … that is run the apps and digital services that you need or want.
Not judging Apple at all, they do what it best for them. I’m actually judging you and customers like you that tend to argue more in favor of Apple than yourselfs and drag everyone else down, including me. Weak minds in my opinion.
Would it be a bad thing for you or someone else to also have an xCloud or Stadia app in our $1.2k devices? Why is it good for you to be forced to use web browser instead of an app in your $1k iPhone … because Apple wants even more $$$ … heck in my $2k iPad Pro?
Why Why Why?
So please explain to us ignorant customers why you want to pay for the same thing more than once?
Why exactly should Apple’s tech and APIs be used for free? Please explain why they should do that?
It’s not free. Apple charges developers a yearly fee. The App Store is already full of free apps, and Apple is ok with that. I don’t pay Apple for Netflix or Disney+, or my Amazon purchases, but those apps are still on my phone and Apple is happy to have them in the App Store. Game streaming apps are really no different than video streaming apps, as that’s basically all they’re doing. The only difference is the video being streamed is very interactive. :)
