While Microsoft has successfully integrated Xbox functionality into both Windows 10 and Android, iOS was in some ways an outlier. Until now, the Xbox app on iOS has been more or less just for communicating with friends and viewing achievements. [Compare and contrast this with the Android app, which allows you to stream Xbox Game Pass titles directly to your phone, or the Windows app, which allows you to stream your favorite games from your console. However, the next update will add full remote play capabilities to the Xbox app on iOS.

The information comes from The Verge, where senior editor Tom Warren obtained an early version of the soon-to-be-released Xbox iOS app update. For those who have already upgraded the Xbox Android app, they will find that the iOS version will have much of the same functionality. You can browse your game library, communicate with friends, and view short gameplay clips, but the big new feature is the Console Connect option.

Warren showed off the process in a video he shared on Twitter:

Android and Windows 10 fans already know the steps: the Xbox One console is powered on, the same as your phone (or computer) network, you can stream the entire Xbox experience over Wi-Fi. Once you click "connect," you can connect the Xbox controller to your iOS device and play games just as you would on an Xbox console. (PS4 has an almost identical feature called Remote Play on Android, iOS, and Windows.)

Windows 10 users have been able to stream Xbox content for years, and Android users got access to this feature about a week ago. Warren did not mention a release date for the new Xbox app for iOS, but said it will be "coming soon," so fans will not have to wait much longer.

One interesting thing to keep in mind, however, is that iOS does not embrace Android's recent Project xCloud feature. as of two weeks ago (last month if you include open beta), Xbox Game Pass subscribers could stream over 100 titles from the cloud to stream directly to their Android devices. These games include "Gears of War 5," "Halo: The Master Chief Collection," "Ori and the Blind Forest," "Sea of Thieves," "Untitled Goose Game," and many other popular Xbox titles. are included. iOS users are eagerly awaiting this feature (they were able to test it in a closed beta last year), but it remains to be seen when (or if) it will officially come to iOS.

So there is good news and bad news for Xbox owners using iOS: being able to stream games directly from Xbox to their phones is a good thing. However, you can't stream games directly from the cloud; there's no clear deadline for updating the Xbox app, but if you keep your app up to date in the next week or so, it should be updated.