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My Xbox Live for iPad updates with virtual Xbox Companion controls

The My Xbox Live app for iPad has updated bringing super-sized Xbox 360 controls to the 9.7-inch touchscreen.

Pretty much the full console UI has been transported to the iPad here. Noticeably, there’s the Xbox 360 controls used for accessing YouTube, next to some media controls for when you’re watching movies or TV episodes on Netflix and 4oD.

My Xbox Live for iPad updates with virtual Xbox Companion controls

There’s a new ‘Discover’ section which lets you watch trailers of films and games as well as buy titles from Zune Video and Games on Demand.

Smart Glass: A 9.7-inch window pane

This update brings Microsoft’s vision of SmartGlass one step closer to reality. SmartGlass is Microsoft’s big unified second screen project shown off at E3 last month.

The main idea behind SmartGlass is to turn as many screens – phones, tablets, laptops – into second screens for controlling and accessing Xbox 360 content. As well as this, a revamped Internet Explorer, featuring a Metro UI/Windows Phone tiles look, is said to be in the pipeline for the 360.

My Xbox Live for iPad updates with virtual Xbox Companion controls

Last year we first spotted Xbox Companion, an app which turned your Windows Phone into an advanced remote control for your Xbox 360.

This is the first pane in Microsoft’s SmartGlass greenhouse, which paved the way for similar Android and iPhone apps. The updated iPad app is the latest addition, suggesting that SmartGlass will become a real actual thing and not just a product of concept land.

Recently we’ve seen Sky update its Sky Sports iPad app, bringing split screen camera support to the fore. This is perhaps our favourite example of the second screen in the home delivering a truly next-gen experience. While Xbox 360 owners won’t want to trade in their dual stick controller for an iPad when it comes to Call of Duty matches, we’d like to see games expanding into the second screen in a similar way to what Nintendo’s hinted at with its Wii U controller.

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