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Microsoft launches Xbox SmartGlass app for iOS

Published Nov 7th, 2012 11:40AM EST

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So much for having to wait until 2013 to get Xbox SmartGlass on Android and iOS. A week after Microsoft (MSFT) released its Xbox 360 companion app on Windows 8 devices and Android, the company pushed out SmartGlass for iOS. Users who already have the My Xbox Live app on iOS will see Xbox SmartGlass as an update that rebrands the app.

As with the Android and Windows 8 apps, Xbox SmartGlass lets you control an Xbox 360 by using your iOS device’s touchscreen for text input, controlling media, and navigating the console’s dashboard and new Internet Explorer. The app also lets you tweak your 3D avatar, message friends over Xbox Live and track achievements.

In the future, Microsoft hopes to add deeper “second screen experiences” to SmartGlass to create more immersive content. Unlike the Wii U’s GamePad with built-in touchscreen, SmartGlass is a universal app on multiple mobile platforms that takes the devices you already own and connects them to the Xbox 360.

Xbox SmartGlass for iOS can be downloaded here.

Raymond Wong is a technology reporter with a passion for cutting-edge gadgets and clean design. His writing has appeared on DVICE, Ubergizmo, G4TV, Yahoo News, NBC blogs. You might even have seen his videos on Xbox LIVE.