Nvidia GeForce Now comes to Apple’s M1 Macs and Chrome browser
Chrome support arrives for Windows and Mac users – Linux may work too, but isn’t officially supported
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Nvidia’s GeForce Nowgame streaming service has brought in official support forGoogle’s Chrome web browser, and updated the macOS app to support the new Macs withApple’s own M1 processor.
Chrome support means you’ll be able to hop in and enjoy game streaming right there and then on any device with the browser, but in the release notes, as spotted byXDA Developers(viaTom’s Hardware),Nvidiaclarifies that only Windows and macOS systems are officially supported with Google’s browser.
That leaves Linux gamers in the lurch, potentially, although these users can always give it a shot, as Nvidianotes: “Other platforms may work, but are unsupported.” Still, that situation is obviously better than nothing.
Of course, Chromebook support (meaning Chrome OS, rather than the Chrome browser) was already brought in last year (check out our guide onhow to use GeForce Now on a Chromebook).
Nvidia elaborates: “We have also added an easy way for you to create bookmarks and shortcuts to help you launch your favorite games faster. Simply click on a game to open the game details options, and select +SHORTCUT to open a dialog to create a game shortcut on your desktop.”
M1 goodness
The latest update (GeForce Now version 2.0.27) also introduces support for Apple’s Macs powered by theARM-based M1 chip, which is delivered via the official macOS app. So that’s very handy for anyone who has bought one of these new machines.
Note that some folks have been running GeForce Now in Chrome on Windows systems previously, but unofficially – and the official launch represents a fully optimized incarnation. That’s good news in terms of responsiveness, and avoiding lag with your game streaming, of course.
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Tom’s gave GeForce Now a spin on Chrome with aWindows 10machine, and found it runs slickly, giving you an experience pretty close to that of the native app. Some settings are missing, though, including the ability to drop the frame-rate (to 30 fps) and the option that compensates for ‘poor network conditions’.
For those kind of reasons, it is worth using the native GeForce Now application if you can, but the option to simply fire up Chrome and just jump straight in is obviously a useful one to have.
Darren is a freelancer writing news and features for TechRadar (and occasionally T3) across a broad range of computing topics including CPUs, GPUs, various other hardware, VPNs, antivirus and more. He has written about tech for the best part of three decades, and writes books in his spare time (his debut novel - ‘I Know What You Did Last Supper’ - was published by Hachette UK in 2013).
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