Along with the release of the Xbox’s new dashboard, Microsoft (News - Alert) released an Xbox Companion application for all its Microsoft Windows phones. But this time, instead of sticking to Microsoft products, the company stretched its arms a little further, twiddling its fingers against Apple (News - Alert) territory.

Microsoft is now releasing an Xbox Companion application for all iOS devices, including the iPhone (News - Alert) and iPad. Many Xbox fans who own an iOS device surely appreciate this gesture. Considering that iPhone users are most loyal and the iPhone is one of the biggest sellers, Microsoft really seems to have no choice in the matter. It would have confined a good portion of its Xbox users considerably had it not been for this release.

Although the iOS application doesn’t have as many capabilities as the Windows phone, the application still lets you perform all the most important functions on your Xbox, as well as communicate with your friends on Xbox Live even when you’re not in front of the console. You can still send messages, edit your avatar, compare progress on achievements, and edit your complete Live profile with this version.

Microsoft “loyalists” question why the company has released the application for iOS, a competitor’s operating system. In fact, there are rumors spreading around that Microsoft is also planning to release its Office suite for iOS as well.

“Using the Xbox Companion app you can learn more details about the movie, TV show, music or game that is playing on your console,” said Larry Hryd, also known as “Major Nelson.” “You can also get friend activity (friends online, friends with beacons, friends who have recently played), achievements and related items. You’ll also be able to select a search result, and launch a movie, TV show, game or app on the connected console as well as play, pause, fw, rw the playing video or music on the connected Xbox, initiate media purchase and navigate your Xbox console with Windows Phone (News - Alert) using the Xbox Companion.”