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Xbox party chat launches on Android and iOS

Keep up with your gaming buddies when you're away from home.

Devindra Hardawar/AOL

It's now easier to keep up with your Xbox gaming pals when you've ventured beyond the living room. After several weeks of public testing, Microsoft has launched party chat in its Xbox apps for Android and iOS. If you use Xbox Live, you can use this to your fellow party members through voice or text wherever you happen to be. That can be helpful if you want to keep up with an in-game raid while you're rushing home, or if you just want to leave a party channel open as a semi-permanent group chat.

This gives Microsoft a slight edge over Sony: you can certainly message fellow PlayStation owners through official apps, but live voice chat isn't an option unless you turn to a third-party service. While this probably won't make or break your choice of console, it's something to consider if you frequently play online with a close-knit group.