- Google Stadia may support Safari on iOS 14
- Currently, it’s only available on Android, Web, and Chromecast
- Google has reprioritized for Stadia in competition with Amazon Luna
Stadia is a cloud gaming service developed by Google. It is advertised to be capable of streaming video games up to 40K resolution. Also, it can support 60 frames per second. It also adds support for high-dynamic range, to players via data centers.
It is accessible through the Google Chrome web browser on PCs, Pixel smartphones, and supported smartphones. It includes Samsung, OnePlus, Raze, Asus, as well as Chromecast and Chrome OS tablets. There is also an experimental mode with support for all Android devices.
Stadia was launched a year ago. Since then it has officially been available on Android, Web, and Chromecast. However, it appears that Stadia will soon grab iOS as its first additional platforms. A new code is pointing to official support for Safari on iOS 14.
Stadia and its accessibility
Stadia has an official Web app, considering that, it’s surprising that it does not add support for iOS. The reason behind this is the first launched version of Stadia. The version of Safari that was bundled with iOS 13 didn’t have the web features to run Stadia well.
On the other hand iOS 14 has arrived with some changes. For instance, alternative browsers like Stadium have proven. However, most importantly the User-Agent needs to be changed. It accounts for the way a browser identifies websites to disguise itself as the Desktop version of Chrome.
This step is quite necessary. Stadia’s Web app currently only officially supports Chrome on Windows, macOS, ChromeOS, and Linux. In a short video released, you can see a clear reference to playing Stadia in a new browser. This new code makes a particular reference to “safari”, “iPad”, and “iPhone”.
Google’s attention to queries
However, at present Google is not paying much attention to these queries. It is quite possible that the company has reprioritized its efforts. This is because of the competition from Amazon Luna. Since the day of its release, it has added support for iOS, similarly using browser to play.
The reason either of these services needs to use the browser is guideline from Apple. Apple has clarified its guidelines to require game streaming services in the App Store. The services need to individually submit each streaming title through the App Store review.
However, it’s quite early to interpret that Stadia will soon appear on iOS officially. Since we are predicting this based on a handful of texts in a web app. Looking towards the success of Stadium, it shouldn’t take much beyond Google flipping the switch to allow Safari.
Stadia’s features seem to roll out slowly and cautiously.
