Stadia 4.18 preps reactions for Explore posts and continues work on 1440p and motion controls

Kyle Bradshaw | Jun 6 2022 - 3:03 pm PT

The latest update to Stadia’s Android app readies the ability to add reactions to posts on the Explore tab, while also continuing work toward 1440p streaming and motion controls.

About APK Insight: In this “APK Insight” post, we’ve decompiled the latest version of an application that Google uploaded to the Play Store. When we decompile these files (called APKs, in the case of Android apps), we’re able to see various lines of code within that hint at possible future features. Keep in mind that Google may or may not ever ship these features, and our interpretation of what they are may be imperfect. We’ll try to enable those that are closer to being finished, however, to show you how they’ll look in the case that they do ship. With that in mind, read on.

Explore post reactions

One of Stadia’s core social features is the Explore tab, which offers a feed of publicly shared screenshots and videos of Stadia games. Within the update to Stadia 4.18, rolling out now via the Play Store, we find that Google has been working on something called “emoji reactions.”

/chrome.cloudcast.proto.api.portalfe.datakeys.v1.CloudcastPortalFeService/SetEmojiReaction

While the most obvious use of emoji reactions like this would be for Stadia’s built-in messaging capabilities, the only hint we could find of how these reactions may be used makes mention of “Explore.”

Explore.reactionsAckUsers

hasExploreActivityReactionsReference

Based on this, we believe that it will soon be possible for Stadia players to show their feelings about another player’s screenshots using emojis. The end result may look a little bit like Facebook’s options for reactions to posts.

1440p streaming

Over the last two updates to Stadia’s Android app, we’ve steadily watched as Google prepares for a dedicated 1440p streaming option to match what desktop users can enjoy today. The latest update includes a new hidden toggle to allow Google to test out 1440p streaming, or in theory, roll the feature out to Stadia players in the future.

enable1440pBandwidthPreference

Motion controls

Google’s Stadia team has also been developing support for motion controls, which would allow you to play certain games by moving/tilting your phone. In Stadia 4.18, we find that progress on these motion controls has steadily continued, including what looks like a toggle for turning motion on and off.

Enable motion controls (supported gamepad layouts only)

From this, we learn that Stadia’s motion controls will (unsurprisingly) only work with some games, depending on their gamepad layout. Based on the work Google has done toward customizable touch controls for Stadia games, it seems likely that motion controls will only be available for games that actively support it.

Thanks to JEB Decompiler, from which some APK Insight teardowns benefit.