The patent is titled “Enabling Interactive Service for Cloud Rendering Gaming in 5G Systems”. Originally filed in February, it was only published quite recently. The Apple patent describes something that actually sounds a lot like Google Stadia. One line reads “The game is stored, executed, and rendered on a remote server and the video results are streamed directly to the computing device”. The idea here is clearly to allow games to be played regardless of a system’s spec sheet, as the heavy lifting is done by a remote server.
The Apple patent goes on to discuss a number of limitations and proposed solutions to them as well. One obvious problem is that current 5G tech can’t transfer control inputs “in efficient and optimal manners”. As for the solution, the patent reads “AF triggered cloud rendering server relocation due to computing/resource balancing in application domains”. As mentioned, this sounds a lot like Google Stadia. There’s also Microsoft’s Project xCloud, and Sony has the now very low key PS Now. If you were to adopt a really cynical view of the whole situation, this may explain Apple not allowing xCloud on its App Store. (Source: Patently Apple via VG247)