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Google Stadia Cloud Gaming Platform Now Available on iPhone and iPad Through Safari

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Google's Stadia cloud gaming service is now available on iOS through a dedicated web app, which means that it is playable on the iPhone and the iPad for the first time. For those unfamiliar with Stadia, it is a gaming platform that lets you play your favorite video games on any device.


Google was not able to bring Stadia to iOS through a dedicated app because of Apple's restrictions on cloud gaming services, so Google had to find a workaround.

The new progressive web version of Google Stadia is able to be run through the Safari web browser, and it is available in a public beta capacity. Those who want to try it out can visit Stadia.com. It supports all kinds of popular games, like NBA 2K21, DOOM Eternal, Red Dead Redemption 2, Assassin's Creed Valhalla, and more.

Google says that the Safari gameplay experience is still in development, and additional features and performance improvements will be added going forward as it gathers user experience data. The Stadia experience on iOS is similar to Stadia on Android, and the web app supports playing and purchasing games.

Stadia can be added to the Home screen and launched like a traditional app by visiting the website, tapping on the share button, and choosing the "Add to Home Screen" option.

google-stadia-add-to-home-screen.jpg

Google first launched Stadia a year ago in November 2019, allowing subscribers to play cloud-based games on compatible laptops, PCs, Macs, phones, and tablets. Stadia requires an internet connection of 10Mb/s or more, and while it's free to use, some games must be purchased. Google also offers Stadia Pro for $10 per month with access to some free games and higher resolution streaming rates.

Article Link: Google Stadia Cloud Gaming Platform Now Available on iPhone and iPad Through Safari
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2020/12/16/google-stadia-ios-launch/
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Even if these companies were willing to give Apple a cut (like Microsoft was willing to do), it appears that Apple would rather lose out on the revenue than attempt to compete in the App Store with game streaming services with games approved by the ESRB ... a losing position given the EU's new Digital Markets Act, Cydia's lawsuit, Epic's lawsuit, and EU anti-trust investigation looking at Apple's restrictions on Spotify.
 
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ArtOfWarfare said:
Does it support controllers? Playing something that was designed with a proper controller in mind with an onscreen controller instead is subpar to say the least.
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That's one benefit to the stadia controller connecting directly to your wifi router instead of whatever device is streaming - aside from cutting out the extra step of latency, it allows for "gameplay" to be reduced to a video stream - at least as far as whatever device you're using to display it is concerned.
 
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Really cool to see this being implemented... as a proof of concept for something like Microsoft Game Pass cloud streaming.

Of course now that I think about it Nvidia did this back in November with GeForce NOW so... just don’t invest in Stadia... it’s literally the worst of all worlds when it comes to game streaming.
 
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Malus120 said:
Really cool to see this being implemented... as a proof of concept for something like Microsoft Game Pass cloud streaming.

Of course now that I think about it Nvidia did this back in November with GeForce NOW so... just don’t invest in Stadia... it’s literally the worst of all worlds when it comes to game streaming.
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Where’s all this anger coming from? Let the platforms compete and let the best one win.

Stadia doesn’t have the largest game library, but it’s rapidly growing. Cyberpunk runs great on Stadia for anyone looking to try it out.
 
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PWAs are awesome. I'm surprised Apple has embraced them as much as they have, but they still need to do more. Make it easier to install, and support more PWA features that exist on Android.
 
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This is awesome ive been waiting for this to use on my iPad. Works great with the stadia controller.
I’m also using it on my 12 Pro max and for some reason it doesn’t go completely full screen in landscape. Can’t really play it like this when there’s a giant banner stuck in the middle of the screen.
 

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Not working for me. Google's official instructions are here:

Stadia Announcement FAQ - Stadia Help

Last updated: March 8, 2023On September 29, 2022, Google announced that the Stadia servers will be turned off on January 18, 2023. The following article includes answers to common questions and will b
support.google.com

I get the "Use Google Chrome" prompt on my iPad and the "Download the App" prompt on iPhone.
 
Amacfa said:
Cloud gaming is such a joke. Nothing beats on device. I tried rainway and steamlink. What a joke. How could anyone play with such latency and loss of quality?
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efp722 said:
I've been playing CyberPunk on my MBP using GeForce Now and it's been fantastic. Settings are maxed out with full RTX.

It's a game changer, really.
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I must say the quality of the GeForce Now stream is pretty good if using manual settings in the GeForce Now app to get it as good as possible (see attached screenshot). Much worse on Google Stadia (at least on the 1080p stream – I hear the 4K stream i better) because of much harsher compression which gives a blurry images with visible artefacts (squares) especially in darker scenes. There are also no settings for this it seems. Also less settings for in game graphics in Stadia compared to GeForce Now.

But, I totally agree with @Amacfa that the best experience is to play the game locally. A game that require fast input is so much more fun to play with as little latencey (input lag) as possible. At the same time there are games with slower pace that works really well with streaming services.
 

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I feel like cloud streaming through Safari supports Apple's position against having them in the store. They've always said "you can always distribute through Safari if store policy doesn't work for you".
 
Amacfa said:
View attachment 1695579

Yours looks very good! Here’s mine on a similar scene when I was taking the train. It doesn’t seem like a huge difference to me, and I have medium/high. If I didn’t have the gpu at all, I’d totally do it!
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Yeah I’ve been very pleased with the experience. I tried it on my PS4 Pro and while playable the low res textures and bad pop in was a huge turn off. Definitely open to playing more games this way
 
Actually... Nvidia's GeForce Now figured this out first in November... seems like Google just copied their workaround.

GeForce NOW Streaming Comes to iOS Safari

I much prefer their model because it doesn't force you to buy games again, that will only be tied to the Stadia store. Nvidia let you link up to existing stores (like steam, epic) and play your existing purchases, platform agnostic. and they have a free tier. That's very consumer friendly.
 
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