Last week, Sony blessed the App Store with its PS4 Remote Play app, which allows PS4 owners to stream games straight from their console to the iPhone. Provided you have a beastly internet connection and a good MFi (Made for iPhone) controller, you’ll be treated to an experience that’s vaguely reminiscent of playing games on a Nintendo Switch. Remote game streaming technology remains as rough as sandpaper on asphalt, but there was generally much rejoicing.
For some of us, though, there was also plenty of head-scratching. PS4 Remote Play isn’t all that functionally different from Valve’s Steam Link app, which Apple shot down last May merely a day after Valve announced its upcoming release. Both apps are owned by publishers other than Apple. Both stream games from another device to your iPhone over Wi-Fi connections. Both apps let you buy games through the app-maker’s own store without paying any commission to Apple. They’re so similar, in fact, that I’ve spent much of the last few days scanning my news feed for word that Apple had decided to pull the plug on Remote Play as well.
