After looking like it would only support Windows Phone 8 for the foreseeable future, Microsoft has released SmartGlass apps for iOS and (select) Android devices. Setting aside the issue of why it refused to alleviate fears that it would wait until next year to provide support — something that could have been a major detriment to its potential success — I’ve been able to spend some time with SmartGlass on my iPad. It proves to be useful, but, at least at this point, those without a supported device are not missing out on a whole lot.
My initial reaction was very positive. After discovering SmartGlass needs to be specifically enabled in the console’s settings, I was surprised by just how responsive navigating the dashboard with my iPad was. I never spent a great deal of time making use of this functionality in the My Xbox Live app that SmartGlass replaces, and while I’m still not sure I’ll use it much going forward, it’s there and it works well. It’s worth noting that the dashboard itself doesn’t show up on the device’s screen; you merely use gestures to navigate the dashboard displayed on the TV. Although there is some content that can be seen on the screen — primarily the stuff from the My Xbox Live app, like messages, your friends list, and a list of your games — what this means is you can’t wander away from the TV with your SmartGlass device and still be looking at the dashboard.
