While some users wonder if Amazon Luna will mean the end of Google StadiaWhat others want to know is Why Amazon's Game Streaming Service Works on the iPhone and the iPad. Well, the answer is quite simple, it is a web application.
The magic of webapps
Amazon this week has surprised with a few ads, some more striking than others. But in recent days the e-commerce giant launched a new range of smart speakers with a very attractive renovated design. It also presented new Fire TV, three models and where the new Fire TV Cube. And then new security cameras.
All this at the hardware level, but in terms of software the big surprise was Amazon Luna, a new streaming game service of which we tell you what it is, whether or not you can play now, how much it costs, what titles it offers, resolution and other details and requirements. But I need to emphasize how Amazon is able to offer this technology so that Apple users can access the service.
And it is that you will know that Apple isn't too keen on enabling streaming services. Or yes, but in its own way and with a series of restrictions that frankly do not make any sense. Therefore, despite having been announced several months ago, neither Google Stadia, nor xCloud nor GeForce Now can be used on iOS devices.
However, Amazon Luna does. And this is possible thanks to the fact that it is a "simple web browser" or what is the same, a webapp. This is what prevents Apple from denying the service to run on its terminals. Because the App Store's own rules say that web browsers can be used to bring these types of services to all users.
Amazon has seen the opportunity very well and has taken advantage of all the experience and technology that it has developed over the years, both in terms of servers and video transmission since its acquisition of Twitch.
Of course, the best of all is that being a browser, the company does not have to go through the rest of the App Store rules and the payment of your subscription stays in full. No sharing that 30% with the apple company.
The future of xCloud, Stadia and other services
Could Google, Microsoft and Nvidia do something similar to what Amazon has done? The answer is possibly yes, but whether it really suits them is another thing. Because you have to admit that nothing better than a native experience and not an access via webapp.
If you remember, early versions of iOS offered web apps because there was no App Store. When Steve Jobs introduced them, everything changed and both the performance and the user experience improved remarkably.
Therefore, it is likely that these services seek a solution together with Apple to comply with the regulations without being harmed themselves. And in those conversations, Amazon Luna could help indirectly. Because Apple surely will not want to end up copying and stop entering a percentage of each subscription that over the months and years will be very important.
So now it's time to see what the rest of the proposals and Tim Cook's company do. But the launch of Amazon Luna may be one of the best things for a number of reasons.