Google Stadia has finally received an upgrade (or something like that). Google’s cloud gaming service will reach a handful of new phones that, for once, won’t be Google’s.
Google Stadia has had some problems during its deployment. It has had connectivity issues and communication problems. But when it works, it does look like a magical future for video games, as long as you don’t have a problem using Google products. Yes, one of Stadia’s most frustrating issues is the small number of devices it works on.
You can use it with the Chrome browser on Windows 10 and macOS, which is undoubtedly very useful, with the Chromecast Ultra and with a small variety of Google Pixel phones. By comparison, Nvidia’s GeForce works on almost any Android device, and Microsoft Project xCloud, which is still in beta, works on any Android device with Bluetooth 4.0 that has Android 6.0 or higher.
Stadia, which has been developed by the same company that maintains Android, has terrible support in comparison. However, starting this week, it will be available on 17 new phones:
- Samsung S8
- Samsung S8+
- Samsung S8 Active
- Samsung Note 8
- Samsung S9
- Samsung S9 +
- Samsung Note 9
- Samsung S10
- Samsung S10+
- Samsung Note 10
- Samsung S20
- Samsung S20 +
- Samsung S20 Ultra
- Asus ROG phone
- Asus ROG Phone II
- Razer Phone
- Razer Phone II
That’s a lot of new devices to play with.
Remarkably absent are the devices maintained by Huawei and Apple. Huawei’s exclusion makes sense because of the U.S. veto on technology companies working with Huawei. Apple’s absence creates a little less sense. Andrey Doronichev, Stadia’s Director of Product Management, assured me that support for iOS is part of the roadmap. “We’re excited about that. We’re just not ready to talk about it yet,” he told me on a video call.
Virtually no streaming game service has support for iOS. When I asked Nvidia why, she suggested that I ask Apple, while Google repeatedly told me that it would eventually come, but refused to discuss the timeline. Meanwhile, Microsoft quietly deployed a beta version of Project xCloud for iOS last week.
photo by pexels
