Minecraft: Education Edition comes with major update to mobile devices

What you need to know

• Minecraft: Education Edition combines the creative fun of Minecraft with knowledge to become a powerful educational tool.
• With the mobile update, the Education edition is finally coming to Android and iOS platforms, among many other changes.
• The Render Dragon engine provides improved performance, multiplayer is easier to join, and in-game coding has been improved.
• Finally, 1.18 “Caves & Cliffs Update Part Two” is also coming to Minecraft: Education Edition with this release.

Today is a good day for educators everywhere, as Mojang Studios’ popular and capable educational tool based on Minecraft enjoys a lot of significant improvements and new features today. The Minecraft: Education Edition Mobile Update extends the education-focused version of the popular creative survival game to Android and iOS platforms, among a host of other improvements.

Minecraft: Education Edition is used by hundreds of institutions and educators around the world to help children teach a variety of subjects through Minecraft. On Wednesday, Mojang Studios started releasing the mobile update to all users, and it is a major release that should excite educators and children alike.

Some of the key features of Minecraft: Education Edition Mobile Update are:

• Availability on Android and iOS platforms. For the first time, Minecraft: Education Edition is available on Android and iOS platforms, vastly expanding its potential user base. The tool offers a variety of optimizations and settings to ensure it works and looks great on smaller devices, and is compatible with a wide variety of iPhones, Android phones, and Android tablets.
• Minecraft 1.18 “Caves and Cliffs Update Part Two.” The mobile update also includes all the features and changes included in the last 2021 Minecraft content updates, the second half of the Caves & Cliffs update. This means a much improved world generation for mountains, caves and other terrains, as well as increased world height and depth.
• Improved in-game coding. Minecraft: Education Edition can be used to teach children to code, and it will be improved in the mobile update. In-game coding is now available to all users and includes many new improvements to help kids code, including improved accessibility for tutorials and information.
• Improved multiplayer. Minecraft: Education Edition removes some of the barriers to multiplayer, a staple for vanilla Minecraft versions. This should make it easier for educators to gather all their children into the same Education Edition spaces, with few manual configurations needed to make it all work.
• Improved graphics performance. Minecraft: Bedrock Edition, the universal version of Minecraft that spans platforms and ecosystems, is powered by the flexible and modern Render Dragon engine. Starting with the mobile update, the Education edition is powered by the same. Users should notice improved performance after the update, especially on lower power devices common in education.
• New NPC skins. Educators and creators building new educational content for Minecraft: Education Edition now have 20 additional NPC skins to help them design their worlds. The new skins are divided into agricultural, business and kiosk categories and should add more diversity to educational worlds.

Minecraft: Education Edition is based on the same creative freedom as Minecraft, but it’s not just any video game. It aims to teach children collaboration, creative problem solving, and open-minded critical thinking, while providing informative information on a variety of topics such as science, math, history, coding, and more. With the mobile update, it is now available on more platforms with enhanced features across the board.

Will the Education Edition take over from its Bedrock sibling as one of the best Xbox games? No, it is primarily an educational resource and not as accessible as other versions of Minecraft (if you are a non-teacher looking to explore the Education Edition content, there are several features, worlds and lessons available in Bedrock Edition ). However, the Education edition of Minecraft is important to many educators and kids, and it’s a lot better with today’s update.