Xbox SmartGlass is Microsofts connected screen solution that we’ve been hearing about for a while now. Bridging media content across all your Windows 8 devices this is more than just an Airplay clone.

Pushing the media hub capabilities of the Xbox even further SmartGlass also hopes to enrich content consumption by providing supplementary information on movies, TV, and games being viewed. For example say you want to know more about a particular actor in a film, SmartGlass will allow your companion device to access the info letting you view a filmography or it can highlight scenes prominently featuring the actor and enable you to jump directly to them.

Another place where this platform could shine is obviously gaming. Having a dedicated second device could provide for some interesting use cases, interactive maps, companion apps you can play on the go are just a couple of things that immediately spring to mind. Something a bit like this was implemented in the games Fusion: Genesis (Xbox) and Fusion: Sentient (Windows Phone) however where those games interacted in a very limited way I’m sure devs will be able to come up with much more dynamic scenarios.

Xbox SmartGlass is slated for release sometime before year’s end for Xbox, all Windows 8 devices, iOS, and Android. If Microsoft can deliver on its intentions with a platform this pervasive across OS’s they should knock this out of the park. Of course only time will tell and we will be sure to keep an ear out for any new info on SmartGlass as its launch approaches.