iPhone Gaming Is Difficult. Here is What the iPhone 17 Must Make It Simpler

I have been making an attempt to make use of my iPhone as a transportable gaming machine for years, however I usually hit the identical roadblocks when making an attempt to have it change my Nintendo Change after I journey. And it isn’t for lack of Apple and different firms placing within the effort, as there are tons of video games accessible for the iPhone, between titles that run instantly from the system to more-intensive video games that I can stream over a robust web connection.

Gaming on the iPhone is extra convoluted than it must be, and it is frankly simpler to do on Android. For instance, the openness of Android’s working system makes it simple for me to put in alternate shops just like the Epic Video games Retailer. There’s additionally an extended historical past of firms growing Android telephones which are optimized for gaming, providing high-refresh shows and responsive screens which are simpler to make use of for fast-paced video games.

However Apple seems to be refining its gaming expertise with iOS 26, partly with a brand new Video games app that serves as a devoted hub just like what I see on gaming telephones from RedMagic and Asus.

Nonetheless, it will take greater than including a flowery gaming menu to make the iPhone really feel extra like a Steam Deck or a Change. Listed here are just a few of the problems I expertise when making an attempt to recreation on the go with the iPhone, and what I feel Apple may do with the iPhone 17 and iOS 26 to offer a extra compelling different to extra conventional platforms.

The iPhone 17 wants controller

There are such a lot of choices for connecting gaming controllers to an iPhone, however none match precisely proper. I’ve bought clips that permit me tether my iPhone with an Xbox controller, that are comparatively low cost and straightforward to search out between $10 and $30. These are nice for letting me use my console controller with the iPhone, and I can select to both use a Bluetooth connection or hardwire my controller to the iPhone. But they don’t seem to be nice to be used whereas on a practice or for lengthy intervals, as a result of they begin feeling heavy, as they assist the whole iPhone’s weight. To not point out my concern {that a} bumpy second on the practice may shake the cellphone out of the clip, probably resulting in an unwelcome fumble for my cellphone.

If you would like a extra snug gaming expertise, controllers just like the Spine One allow you to slot your iPhone in prefer it’s a Nintendo Change. These are probably the most preferrred as a result of you could have a strong grip in your system, have console-like controls, and — within the case of the Spine — you are hardwired into the controller to scale back latency. However at $100, the Spine One particularly is kind of costly (I used to be thrilled when a colleague had a evaluation unit I may borrow). The iPhone itself is an costly system, and I do not wish to should spend an additional $100 on a controller simply to make it higher for gaming.

Apple has dodged the matter of getting gaming controller by lending its endorsement to quite a lot of merchandise. Generally you will even see the Apple TV paired up with Sony’s DualShock controller at an Apple Retailer for Apple Arcade demos. Whereas I do admire the iPhone’s common compatibility with completely different gaming controllers, it would assist if Apple have been to formally companion with at the very least one controller for what the corporate would take into account an “preferrred” expertise for gaming on the iPhone. Maybe it may very well be a controller grip that makes use of MagSafe as an attachment, or perhaps a controller created in partnership with a third-party like 8BitDo. The aim would not be to switch the liberty of utilizing any controller you need however to maybe convey a coherent expertise to what could be probably the most preferrred technique to even get began with enjoying video games in your iPhone.

Apple Arcade’s subscription is sweet however not versatile

When the Apple Arcade subscription service launched in 2019, it promised a library of high-quality video games that may largely be exclusives and run domestically on the iPhone. Six years later, Apple Arcade remains to be right here however has turn into a spot the place some video games turn into trapped. As an example, Sega launched Sonic Dream Workforce in 2023 on Apple Arcade to largely constructive opinions. Two years later, Sonic Dream Workforce remains to be solely accessible on Apple Arcade and there is not even an possibility to simply purchase the sport a la carte.

Whereas streaming exclusives are frequent on video providers like Netflix and Amazon Prime, for gaming it isn’t preferrred for me to solely be capable of entry a title whereas I’ve an lively subscription. I wish to play by way of quite a lot of video games in brief doses. Whereas Sonic Dream Workforce is not a protracted recreation, it is one which I’d in all probability play over a span of months in between Fortnite matches or enjoying Sonic Mania.

As a result of Apple Arcade focuses completely on cell platforms, a few of these titles do get launched on consoles and the PC. As an example, Sayonara Wild Hearts launched on Apple Arcade and on all three main consoles. It is a recreation that I nonetheless get pleasure from — particularly the narration by Queen Latifah and its attractive artwork model — and it is one which I merely bought on Nintendo Change to make it simpler to entry than on sustaining an Apple Arcade subscription.

Let streaming apps run natively on the iPhone 17

Apple has a sophisticated relationship with recreation streaming providers. As an example, when Microsoft needed to convey Xbox Sport Move Final (then known as Xcloud) in 2020 to the iPhone, Apple apparently blocked the try and required Microsoft to individually record every recreation on the service as a separate app within the App Retailer. Microsoft responded by growing an online app that circumvents the necessity to get Apple’s approval, which remains to be in use as we speak for streaming titles from the Xbox Sport Move library. It is a related state of affairs for Amazon’s Luna cloud gaming service and the defunct Stadia service from Google.

I have been utilizing Xbox Sport Move Final on the iPhone by way of this internet app for years and, whereas it largely works, there’s positively some kinks to this workaround. I usually have to log again into the online app if it has been just a few days since I’ve final used it, and although the app is designed properly, I am unable to assist however assume that the online app introduces some extra latency to the expertise. Whereas this isn’t one thing I can check, I can say that cloud gaming remains to be highly-dependent on a robust web connection, and even with a 5G web sign it is usually difficult to make use of a cloud gaming service for a protracted time frame.

I might wish to see Apple dial down a few of these necessities as a result of it simply serves as a barrier for me from accessing video games that I play by way of a subscription I pay for. A cloud gaming service like Xbox Sport Move would seemingly be capable of take higher benefit of the iPhone by working as an area app, and hopefully present higher efficiency as a result of utilizing such a service is bandwidth-intensive. By limiting these providers additional to only a internet app, it is blocking them.

Apple does permit some recreation streaming in restricted circumstances on apps you’ll be able to obtain from the App Retailer. You possibly can stream a recreation that is in your console utilizing Microsoft’s Xbox app or Sony’s PS Distant Play app, which is then reliant on the power of your private home web connection to stream to your cellphone. You too can use Nvidia’s GeForce Now to stream some video games you personal from shops like Steam. 

Now is a superb time for Apple to make the iPhone a gaming system

With the price of know-how fluctuating proper now partly due to tariffs, it is a notably opportune time for Apple to make the iPhone a extra pleasant place to recreation. We’re already seeing costs rise throughout all Xbox consoles and older Nintendo Change handhelds. If Apple may place the iPhone as a simple technique to play console-quality titles without having to purchase extra {hardware}, an argument may very well be made that your cellphone may very well be sufficient for transportable gaming.

We’ll seemingly discover out extra about Apple’s plans for gaming at any time when the corporate broadcasts the iPhone 17, which is presumed to happen this fall. You too can take a look at early impressions of the Video games app in iOS 26, which my colleague Zachary McAuliffe has been testing.