CloudLinkStart with a preset
Open Settings → Presets and choose an automatic mode or a fixed request. Automatic modes use the active display when you press Play, then apply device and membership limits. They do not continuously test your internet speed.
| Preset | What it asks for | Useful to know |
|---|---|---|
| Best for Cellular | A smaller picture, with video capped at 10 Mbps. | Audio and other traffic still use data. This is not a total data-use limit. |
| Balanced | A display-aware picture with automatic bitrate. | A starting point for everyday play. |
| Baller | A larger request within the device and membership limits. | The service still decides what the session can deliver. |
| Competitive | A 1080p preset targeting up to 120 fps. | The request is capped for the active display unless Overdrive is on. A 60 Hz display still shows at most 60 frames each second. |
Save up to three custom presets for resolution, frame rate, bitrate, compression, HDR, color depth and chroma. Available choices depend on the decoder and membership. Custom presets can sync through iCloud, while the default selection stays specific to each device. You can also remember a preset for an individual game. Preset and video-request changes apply when you start the next stream.
Separate the request from the result
Settings → Video Quality shows what your default preset requests. Stream Statistics shows measurements from the connected stream. Resolution, frame rate, HDR and audio also depend on the game, membership, remote rig and connection.
HDR, higher color depth and fuller chroma are custom choices, not promises attached to every built-in preset. Network round-trip time describes a network exchange. It is not the time between pressing a button and seeing the result.
Choose how frames arrive on screen
- Lowest Latency
- Favors the newest available picture. This is the default Video Pacing choice.
- Smoothest
- Keeps an extra decoded frame available to help even out delivery. That adds about one frame of buffering. CloudLink uses Lowest Latency instead when Frame Generation is enabled or the stream frame rate exceeds the display’s refresh rate.
What do Overdrive and Low-Latency Rendering change?
Overdrive allows a preset to request more frames than the display can show. Receiving and decoding those extra frames costs device work, and the display keeps its own refresh limit.
Low-Latency Rendering requests NVIDIA Reflex where the membership permits it. Both are settings for the next stream. Neither guarantees lower end-to-end latency in every game or connection.
Adjust the received picture
GPU Upscaling offers Off, Sharp and Smooth, and can change during a stream. Sharp emphasizes edges and may expose compression blocks. Smooth softens the image. These options process the picture already received, without adding source detail or changing its bandwidth request.
Frame Generation is offered for a suitable 120 Hz output. It blends intermediate pictures locally and adds delay. It does not make the remote game run faster, and it is separate from NVIDIA DLSS.
Under Settings → Display, Fit preserves the whole picture, Fill crops edges, and Stretch fills the screen with distortion. Manual adds Size, Horizontal and Vertical. Recenter Picture appears after you adjust the placement. These controls change placement, not the resolution requested from the server.
Game Mode and connection choices
CloudLink is configured to support Apple’s Game Mode on iPhone and iPad. Apple controls activation for supported full-screen games and preserves your per-app choice. Use Game Overlay to change it; CloudLink does not override the system setting. This configuration does not prove activation on every device or a measured performance gain. Read Apple’s Game Mode guide.
The default WebRTC streaming path prefers Ethernet when both a wired and wireless route are available. If the wired transport fails, other adapters can be used for a later stream; this is not seamless switching during a game.
Connection Test checks reachability, device conditions and preset compatibility. It does not measure download speed, optimize your router or choose a different GeForce NOW zone.
What native playback means
CloudLink uses Apple’s VideoToolbox for supported video decoding and Metal for rendering and picture processing. Compatible decoded images can pass to the renderer without an app-side image copy. Codec and hardware support still determine the available path, including fallbacks.
Frame delivery runs on a dedicated thread so it can proceed independently of interface work. These implementation choices reduce avoidable work in the app. They do not remove network travel time, remote game processing or display limits.