Since its launch, Google Stadia has been very slow to gain support for new phones on Android outside of the Google Pixel series, for which the search giant has often encountered bewilderment among users. With the release of Stadia version 2.19 for Android, it looks like a lot is about to change: Google plans to allow the game service to run on phones that have not yet been 'certified', as well as add other new features. Does this mean that it will be possible to play games from Stadia on any smartphone with suitable specifications?
Google Stadia is undergoing major updates
As 9to 5G oogle writes, in the details of the update there is a text describing the user's phone, which is currently not supported by the Stadia service. There is a mention of the user being able to select the 'desired game options' which may entail a risk of performance degradation. The wording, as is often the case with Google, is very vague, but with a high degree of certainty we can say that we are talking about phones that do not support Google Stadia at the moment. It is for them that a 'performance decrease' at maximum game settings may be relevant.
The point of Google Stadia is that it is cloud-based. With it, you do not need to download games to your device. You just need to buy the desired game and you can safely play on almost any device. However, despite this, the list of smartphones supported by the service is still seriously limited, although Stadia was launched at the end of last year.
Which smartphones does Stadia support?
Joystick is required to play Stadia now
At first, only Pixel smartphone owners could launch Stadia at all, but over time the list of compatible models has expanded greatly. Here's what the list of all supported phones looks like today:
- Pixel 2, 2 XL, 3, 3 XL, 3a, 3a XL, 4, 4 XL
- Samsung Galaxy S8, S8 +, S8, S8 Active, Note 8
- Samsung Galaxy S9, S9 +, Note 9
- Samsung Galaxy S10, S10 +, Note 10, Note 10+
- Samsung Galaxy S20, S20 +, S20 Ultra
- Asus ROG Phone, ROG Phone II
- Razer Phone, Razer Phone II
Of course, there are ways to make Stadia work on other devices (unofficial), some sometimes publish in our Telegram chat, however, they are performed at your own peril and risk and often do not work. The innovation that Google is preparing in its gaming service is expected to change this and greatly expand the list of supported smartphones for Google Stadia. Thus, users do not have to resort to 'crutches' and they can play with pleasure.
Among other expected innovations in Google Stadia, the publication calls control in games only using the phone's touch screen. Now, by default, to run Stadia, you need not only the smartphone itself, but also a game controller. There's even an official Stadia controller, but the DualShock 4, Xbox One Controller, Steam Controller, and more work as well. The new feature will allow you not to buy a joystick at all and play exclusively using the touch buttons on the screen. A similar approach was implemented by Apple in its service Apple Arcade: there, by default, you can play any game using the screen, but if you wish, you can connect an external controller to games that support it.
Touch control will eliminate the need for controllers
As if that weren't enough, they decided to make us happy with one more piece of news: soon Google Stadia may have free trial periods for some games and even 'gifts from developers'. For example, you can play a game all weekend for free. A tricky move, because if the user likes the game, he will probably think about buying it before the next weekend.
Despite the fact that Stadia does not officially work in Russia, there are ways to launch the service in countries where it is not available. In this article, my colleague Ivan Kuznetsov told how to launch Google Stadia in Russia, as well as some other life hacks related to the service. I advise you to read. Who knows, maybe after the Stadia update, the service will finally launch in Russia.