Microsoft’s pocket-sized Xbox Nano controller is due in stores on November 4, and The Verge reports that the pad can connect straight to Xbox Cloud Gaming over Wi-Fi instead of relying on a phone, tablet or TV as a Bluetooth middleman.
According to the report, that “Cloud connect” path is meant to cut latency by talking to Microsoft’s cloud servers the same way Google’s old Stadia controllers once did. The feature is still in private testing on the new Xbox Cloud Gaming website and has not been announced by Microsoft.
Pairing would run through the Xbox mobile app, which joins the Nano to a Wi-Fi network so the controller can reach the cloud on its own. The Verge expects Microsoft to open the option as a preview before it lands more broadly on the web service and supported smart TVs.
When Microsoft introduced the Nano on October 14, the company listed Xbox Wireless and Bluetooth only, with a rechargeable battery, a programmable Action Button and all 18 standard inputs in a shell a little over five inches long. Canada is on the launch-country list, and the Microsoft Store in Canada has the controller up for pre-order at $69.99 CAD with an 8:00 a.m. release on November 4.
Xbox Cloud Gaming already works in Canada through Game Pass plans that include monthly cloud playtime, and those hours are about to face new monthly Xbox Cloud Gaming caps starting this month.
Apple users can already stream eligible titles in Safari on iPhone and iPad, and the Microsoft Store lists the Nano as Bluetooth-compatible with iOS devices for that kind of play. The unannounced Wi-Fi cloud path is separate from that Bluetooth setup, so day-one iPhone and iPad sessions should still work the way they do today even if Cloud connect stays in preview.
Tom Warren also writes that a future Xbox Elite 3 controller is likely to share the same direct-to-cloud hardware, after an earlier cloud-focused pad project tied to a cancelled Series X refresh never shipped. That sits against a tougher stretch for the division, with Xbox revenue and Game Pass still under pressure in Microsoft’s latest results.
Would a lower-latency Nano make you more likely to stream Xbox games on an iPhone or iPad, or are you waiting until Cloud connect leaves preview?
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