Google Stadia Is Coming To iOS Officially As a Web App

Google's Stadia game-streaming service, which has been limited to Android phones, computers and TVs, will launch for the iPhone in the coming weeks. The Verge reports: Google on Thursday announced iOS support for its Stadia cloud gaming service, following in the footsteps of Microsoft in turning to the mobile web to circumvent Apple's App Store restrictions. Google says it has been building a progressive web app version of Stadia that will run in the mobile version of Apple's Safari browser, similar to how Microsoft intends to deliver its competing xCloud service on iOS sometime next year. But Google intends to beat Microsoft to the punch with public testing of its version in the coming weeks. Nvidia also announced today that it a beta web app version of its GeForce Now cloud gaming service on iOS is available today.

Apple in late August clarified its rules around cloud gaming, telling providers like Google and Microsoft that their apps were not allowed on the App Store due to restrictions Apple imposes on software that streams games to the iPhone and iPad. Apple eventually loosened its restrictions after public criticism from Microsoft and others, but the App Store still requires companies to submit individual games for App Store review. Microsoft called the compromise a "bad experience for consumers" before deciding it would develop a web app version of xCloud for iOS instead. Now, Google is doing the same.

So, this is what WASM is for.

[Great_Geek]

With this much money as stake, Google and Microsoft will pump enough money to make WASM fast enough.

Can they make the whole tool chain easy/fast enough for the business to work?

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[Canberra1]

Both companies have enough money to bypass inefficient calls, and write their own super fast assembler language macros and drivers.Because compression can hammer memory, Apple has been careful that the newer models have less memory so game caching remains hard.

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[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

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[batukhan]

I agree. But until then, this is great news for web. Web apps have been left in the shadow native apps for years. Because of Apple of course. Because they don't control the web, Google does

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[tlhIngan]

Expect Apple Safari's implementation of Web Assembly mysteriously fall of a cliff with the next rounds of updates.

Why? Apple has supported webapps since the very beginning - it was basically the only way to develop apps officially. And they still do now and have kept the ability to install an icon onto the home screen which acts like a bookmark. Since the thing requires internet access, web interfaces are perfectly reasonable.

Plus, people benchmark iOS and the benchmarks include how fast Safari runs in each

Cool people can ignore it on two platforms now!

[OpinOnion]

Google should make a Google TV box and get a subscriber base AND THEN worry about gaming. Nvidia did the same thing, do you see the Nvidia Shield displacing console gaming any? People watch TV a lot more than they play video games, on average. Get people used to interacting with their TV first and then introducing gaming IF customers are actually interested. Google TV box with all the assistant features and show watching helper algorithms AND a Google Dash Cam with driver assistance and voice commands would

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[drinkypoo]

Google should make a Google TV box

Hello? *taptaptap* Is this thing on? [tv.google]