The Xbox app is an app for

Windows 8 Windows 8 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was released to manufacturing on August 1, 2012; it was subsequently made available for download via MSDN and TechNet on August 15, 2012, and later to ...

Windows 10 Windows 10 is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. It is the direct successor to Windows 8.1, which was released nearly two years earlier. It was released to manufacturing on July 15, 2015, and later to retail on J ...

Windows 11 Windows 11 is the latest major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system, released in October 2021. It is a free upgrade to its predecessor, Windows 10 (2015), and is available for any Windows 10 devices that meet the new Windows 11 ...

, Android,

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...

and Tizen. It acts as a companion app for

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the ...

video game consoles, providing access to

Xbox network The Xbox network, formerly and still sometimes branded as Xbox Live, is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft. It was first made available to the Xbox system on November 15, 2002. An u ...

community features,

remote control In electronics, a remote control (also known as a remote or clicker) is an electronic device used to operate another device from a distance, usually wirelessly. In consumer electronics, a remote control can be used to operate devices such a ...

, as well as

second screen A second screen involves the use of a computing device (commonly a mobile device, such as a smartphone or tablet) to provide an enhanced viewing experience for content on another device, such as a television. In particular, the term commonly refer ...

functionality (formerly branded as SmartGlass) with selected games, applications, and content. On Windows 10, the app additionally serves as a launcher for PC games installed on a device (including games obtained from

Microsoft Store Microsoft Store (formerly known as Windows Store) is a digital distribution platform operated by Microsoft. It started as an app store for Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 as the primary means of distributing Universal Windows Platform app ...

, Bethesda.net, Battle.net, Steam, GOG.com,

Epic Games Store The Epic Games Store is a digital video game storefront for Microsoft Windows and macOS, operated by Epic Games. It launched in December 2018 as both a website and a standalone launcher, of which the latter is required to download and play gam ...

Humble Bundle Humble Bundle, Inc. is a digital storefront for video games, which grew out of its original offering of Humble Bundles, collections of games sold at a price determined by the purchaser and with a portion of the price going towards charity and t ...

, Origin and

Ubisoft Connect Ubisoft Connect (formerly Uplay) is a digital distribution, digital rights management, multiplayer and communications service developed by Ubisoft to provide an experience similar to the achievements/trophies offered by various other game compa ...

), provided access to the system's

screen recording A screencast is a digital recording of computer screen output, also known as a video screen capture or a screen recording, often containing audio narration. The term ''screencast'' compares with the related term ''screenshot''; whereas screenshot ...

functions, and streaming of games from an Xbox One console on a local network. During

E3 2019 The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2019 (E3 2019) was the 25th E3, during which hardware manufacturers, software developers, and publishers from the video game industry presented new and upcoming products to the attendees, primarily retailers a ...

, the existing version of the Xbox app for Windows 10 was renamed Xbox Console Companion, and a new Xbox app was introduced in beta. This app is more specifically oriented towards PC gaming, serving as a front-end to games distributed on

, and as the client for PC Game Pass.

Features

Through the app, users can access their activity feed, Xbox Live friends and messages, manage their party, watch saved Game DVR clips, browse OneGuide, and view their

achievements Achievement may refer to: *Achievement (heraldry) *Achievement (horse), a racehorse *Achievement (video gaming), a meta-goal defined outside of a game's parameters See also * Achievement test for student assessment * Achiever, a personality type ...

. Some games and apps can provide

integration via the app, displaying supplemental content. The app can also be used as a

for the console. The

version of Xbox Console Companion allows users to stream games from an Xbox One console over a local network, and has the ability to view and edit Game DVR recordings from an Xbox One console. It also serves as a front-end for a PC version of Game DVR on supported hardware (Game DVR settings were moved to the Settings app on Windows 10 version 1703), and has a library display for games installed on the device, such as those obtained via

, Bethesda.net, Battle.net, Steam, GOG.com,

, Origin and

. Support for

Xbox Cloud Gaming Xbox Cloud Gaming (formerly known as Project xCloud and colloquially known as xCloud) is Microsoft's Xbox cloud gaming service. Initially released in beta testing in November 2019, the service later launched for subscribers of Xbox Game Pass ...

as well as Remote Play from Xbox consoles was added to the app on September 14, 2021.

History

Xbox 360 SmartGlass was originally announced at

E3 2012 The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2012 (E3 2012) was the 18th E3 held. The event took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California. It began on June 5, 2012, and ended on June 7, 2012, with 45,700 total attendees. It was ...

, for

, Android and iOS. Microsoft demonstrated use cases for the new app within both games and entertainment, including a minimap for '' Ascend: New Gods'', a second screen experience for '' School of Rock'' with supplemental content, and '' Game of Thrones'' (with interactive maps and

family tree A family tree, also called a genealogy or a pedigree chart, is a chart representing family relationships in a conventional tree structure. More detailed family trees, used in medicine and social work, are known as genograms. Representations of ...

diagrams). With the release of

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...

in November 2013, Microsoft released an accompanying Xbox One SmartGlass app for Android, iOS, Windows 8.1, and

Windows Phone Windows Phone (WP) is a discontinued family of mobile operating systems developed by Microsoft for smartphones as the replacement successor to Windows Mobile and Zune. Windows Phone featured a new user interface derived from the Metro design l ...

, which contained more extensive functionality for controlling the console.

introduced a revamped version of SmartGlass referred to simply as Xbox, which notably added a library display for PC games, and the ability to stream games from an Xbox One console on a local network. On June 12, 2016, the mobile versions of the Xbox One Smartglass apps were updated for parity with the desktop version, and renamed "Xbox" as well. Xbox 360 SmartGlass was not updated and was discontinued in May 2018. The mobile apps were updated alongside the Xbox One's May 2019 software update, adding cross-platform status indicators to friends. In May 2019, Microsoft also revamped the Xbox Game Bar feature of Windows 10 into a widget-based overlay, which features pop-up windows for features such as screen recording, managing audio inputs, viewing the Xbox Live friends list, and monitoring system components. On June 9, 2019, coinciding with Microsoft's

press conference, Microsoft released a new Xbox app in beta exclusively for Windows 10 May 2019 Update (version 1903), which has a redesigned interface, and serves as the client for

Xbox Game Pass Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass are video game subscription services from Microsoft. Both services grant users access to a rotating catalog of games from a range of publishers and other premium services, including Xbox Live Gold and EA Play, fo ...

on PC. In advance of the conference, Microsoft rebranded the existing Xbox app on Windows 10 as Xbox Console Companion. The new Xbox app is pre-loaded software on

References

External links

*
Xbox (beta)
on

Xbox Console Companion
on

{{Microsoft Windows components Android (operating system) software IOS software Universal Windows Platform apps Windows Phone software Xbox Xbox 360 SmartGlass Xbox network Freeware Screencasting software Screenshot software