3 Ways to Play Xbox on a Mac

There are a thousand and one reasons why this might be useful: the TV is occupied or you don't have one at all, poor eyesight or something else. In any case, Macs do have good displays, but unfortunately, there is no simple way to connect a console directly.

Remote Play

As of the end of 2023, Microsoft still doesn't have an official Remote Play app for macOS, but they do have one for iPad and iPhone. I don't understand why they haven't ported it yet: there's no objective reason.

Fortunately, there are third-party apps, such as OneCast. I've used it for several months. Currently, it costs about $30 for a one-time purchase.

It works roughly the same way as Remote Play in the official app. Sometimes you connect once and see Full HD with almost no lag, and sometimes you're watching a pixelated slideshow. I never quite understood how it works under the hood and how it's related to the phases of the moon, but I did manage to play several games on it.

HDMI Converter

There's this magical thing called an "HDMI Capture Card.” It's a device that connects to the computer via Type-C and converts the HDMI signal into something that the computer recognizes as a webcam.

Such devices range from $10 to $50. I'll admit I made a mistake and ordered an adapter from Sandberg, which converts to Full HD at 30Hz (funny that it's cheaper than OneCast). Theoretically, you can find devices with better specs, but they might be a bit more expensive.

To play, I use OBS. I tried with QuickTime, VLC, and some other apps, but they created noticeable lag. In an ideal world, this should have been the perfect solution, but it has its drawbacks.

• The picture quality and stability immediately outshine Remote Play.
• The adapter creates a slight delay that you need to get used to. It doesn't interfere with playing games like Cyberpunk or Starfield.
• Pay close attention to the output image specifications, not like I did.
• This setup works for iPads with a Type-C port (iOS 17 or later) and an app like Orion.

Portable Display?

Okay, it seems playing Xbox via a Mac isn't a great idea. Another option: buy a portable display. I've seen 13 and 15-inch portable IPS Full HD displays on the market. They're priced similarly to a budget Samsung TV, are space-efficient, and weigh around 800 grams.

In short, the best option: get rich, buy a cinema, and play Xbox there instead of dealing with these alternatives. Don't forget to subscribe to my Telegram channel. I'd skip Twitter since Musk might soon ruin it completely.