iPhone Gaming Is Convoluted. Here’s What the iPhone 17 Must Sway Me as a Gamer

I’ve been attempting to make use of my iPhone as a gaming handheld for years however I typically hit the identical roadblocks when attempting to have it substitute my Nintendo Switch after I journey. And it isn’t for lack of Apple and different corporations attempting, as there’s tons of gaming content material accessible for the iPhone between titles that run straight from the system to more-intensive video games that I can stream over a powerful web connection.

Gaming on the iPhone is extra convoluted than it ought to 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 Games Store. And there’s additionally an extended historical past of corporations creating Android telephones which are optimized for gaming, providing excessive refresh shows and responsive screens which are simpler to make use of for fast-paced video games.

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

However, it should take greater than including a flowery gaming menu to make the iPhone really feel extra like a Steam Deck or a Switch. Here are a couple of of the problems I expertise when attempting to sport on the go along with the iPhone, and what I feel Apple might do with the iPhone 17 and iOS 26 to offer a extra compelling various to extra conventional platforms.

The iPhone 17 wants controller

There are so many choices for connecting gaming controllers to an iPhone, however none match precisely proper. I’ve bought clips that allow me tether my iPhone with an Xbox controller, that are comparatively low-cost and simple 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. Yet they don’t seem to be nice to be used whereas on a practice or for lengthy durations, as a result of they begin feeling heavy as a result of they assist all the iPhone’s weight. Not to say my concern if a bumpy second on the practice may shake the cellphone out of the clip, doubtlessly resulting in an unwelcome fumble for my cellphone.

If you desire a extra snug gaming expertise, controllers just like the Backbone One allow you to slot your iPhone in prefer it’s a Nintendo Switch. These are essentially the most splendid as a result of you’ve a stable grip in your system, have console-like controls and — within the case of the Backbone — you might be hardwired into the controller to cut back latency. But at $100, the Backbone One particularly is kind of costly (I used to be thrilled when a colleague had a evaluate unit I might borrow). The iPhone itself is an costly system, and I do not wish to must 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 a wide range of merchandise. Sometimes you may even see the Apple TV paired up with Sony’s DualShock controller at an Apple Store for Apple Arcade demos. While I do respect the iPhone’s common compatibility with totally different gaming controllers, it’d assist if Apple had been to formally associate with no less than one controller for what the corporate would take into account an “ideal” expertise for gaming on the iPhone. Perhaps it could possibly 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 exchange the liberty of utilizing any controller you need however to maybe carry a coherent expertise to what can be essentially the most splendid method to even get began with taking part in video games in your iPhone.

Apple Arcade’s subscription is good however not versatile

When the Apple Arcade subscription service launched in 2019, it promised a library of high-quality video games that will largely be exclusives and run regionally on the iPhone. Six years later, Apple Arcade remains to be right here however has grow to be a spot the place some video games grow to be trapped. For occasion, Sega launched Sonic Dream Team in 2023 on Apple Arcade to largely positive reviews. Two years later, Sonic Dream Team remains to be solely accessible on Apple Arcade and there is not even an possibility to only purchase the sport a la carte.

While streaming exclusives are frequent on video companies like Netflix and Amazon Prime, for gaming it isn’t splendid for me to solely be capable of entry a title whereas I’ve an lively subscription. I prefer to play via numerous video games in brief doses. While Sonic Dream Team is not a protracted sport, it is one which I’d in all probability play over a span of months in between Fortnite matches or taking part in Sonic Mania.

Because Apple Arcade focuses solely on cell platforms, a few of these titles do get launched on consoles and the PC. For occasion, Sayonara Wild Hearts launched on Apple Arcade and on all three main consoles. It’s a sport that I nonetheless get pleasure from — particularly the narration by Queen Latifah and its attractive artwork type — and it is one which I merely bought on Nintendo Switch to make it simpler to entry than on sustaining an Apple Arcade subscription.

Let streaming apps run natively on the iPhone 17

Apple has an advanced relationship with sport streaming companies. For occasion, when Microsoft needed to carry Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (then known as Xcloud) in 2020 to the iPhone, Apple apparently blocked the try and required Microsoft to individually record every sport on the service as a separate app within the App Store. Microsoft responded by creating an internet app that circumvents the necessity to get Apple’s approval, which remains to be in use at the moment for streaming titles from the Xbox Game Pass library. It’s an identical scenario for Amazon’s Luna cloud gaming service and the defunct Stadia service from Google.

I’ve been utilizing Xbox Game Pass Ultimate on the iPhone via this internet app for years and, whereas it largely works, there’s undoubtedly some kinks to this workaround. I typically must log again into the online app if it has been a couple of days since I’ve final used it, and although the app is designed nicely, I can not assist however suppose that the online app introduces some extra latency to the expertise. While this isn’t one thing I can take a look at, I can say that cloud gaming remains to be highly-dependent on a powerful web connection, and even with a 5G web sign it is typically difficult to make use of a cloud gaming service for a protracted time frame.

I’d prefer 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 via a subscription I pay for. A cloud gaming service like Xbox Game Pass 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 companies additional to only a internet app, it is blocking them.

Apple does enable some sport streaming in restricted circumstances on apps you’ll be able to obtain from the App Store. You can stream a sport that is in your console utilizing Microsoft’s Xbox app or Sony’s PS Remote Play app, which is then reliant on the energy of your house web connection to stream to your cellphone. You can even use Nvidia’s GeForce Now to stream some video games you personal from shops like Steam. 

Now is a good 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 significantly opportune time for Apple to make the iPhone a extra pleasant place to sport. We’re already seeing costs rise throughout all Xbox consoles and older Nintendo Switch handhelds. If Apple might place the iPhone as a simple method to play console-quality titles without having to purchase extra {hardware}, an argument could possibly be made that your cellphone could possibly be sufficient for moveable gaming.

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