Microsoft’s new Xbox companion app “SmartGlass” has been released for iOS and Android devices, just a week following the app’s launch for Windows 8 PCs and tablets.
The app is free and comes as an update/replacement to the existing My Xbox Live iOS app. This means that those who already had the My Xbox Live app simply have to update it to version 2.0.
The SmartGlass app allows you to interact with your Xbox and do things like navigate menus and send messages simply by using the touchscreen of your phone or tablet.
Certain Xbox games will be developed to work specifically with SmartGlass and will use the phone/tablet as a second screen to show information. For example, an adventure game could show a player’s inventory on their iPad’s screen, allowing them to view the items they have collected just by looking at their iPad, removing the player’s need to pause the game.
SmartGlass was released last week for Windows 8 devices with a few exclusive features, such as the ability to send Internet Explorer tabs over to the Xbox web browser and an overall more “deeply integrated” experience.
SmartGlass seems like an interesting and useful technology that could lead to some really cool implementations once developers begin to fully understand how to use it.
