No phone app, ever

No phone app,
ever.

PadlinQ runs the controller in your phone’s browser instead of asking anyone to install an app. Scan a QR — the gamepad loads. iPhone, Android, no App Store, no permissions dance.

Free while in beta · iPhone & Android · Nothing to install on the phone

Four moving parts, none of them an install.

Loads in any phone browser

iPhone Safari, Android Chrome, Firefox, Samsung Internet — anywhere you can open a URL, the controller renders. There is no native phone app to install.

A QR code is the whole pairing flow

The host PC prints a session QR. Your phone’s camera reads it, the URL opens, and the on-screen controller is live. Zero typing, zero accounts.

Shows up to Windows as a real gamepad

Windows sees your phone as a real Xbox or DualShock 4 controller, so Steam, Game Pass, and every other PC game treat it like any other gamepad.

Buttons travel straight from phone to PC

After the QR pairing handshake, your phone and PC talk directly. Every button press goes from one device to the other over an encrypted connection — nothing in between.

Every layout. Motion. Multi-touch. Streaming.

Xbox, DualShock 4, NES, SNES, N64, GameCube, Genesis, Joy-Con (left, right, dual), fight stick, racing wheel — 15+ layouts

Multi-touch trackpad mode for absolute-pointer touch surfaces (drawing apps, RTS, kiosk games)

Phone gyroscope and accelerometer ride along on the DualShock 4 report for motion-aware games

7 visual themes plus a custom layout editor with separate landscape and portrait canvases

Optional screen streaming sends the PC display back to the phone behind the on-screen controller

Up to 8 phones can pair with one PC for couch co-op without buying another physical controller

The full feature surface is on the home page features section — this page is the "why it’s a webpage" version of the pitch.

Webpages beat native apps for couch co-op.

Nothing to install on the phone

No App Store review, no Play Store update lag, no permissions screen, no 60 MB native binary. The controller is just a webpage.

Cross-platform by default

iOS and Android share the same browser-based experience. Tablets, foldables, and old phones with current browsers all work.

Instant for everyone in the room

Friends scan the QR and they’re player two. No one has to "download an app first" — the bottleneck that breaks couch co-op for native apps.

Updates ship from your PC

Upgrade the PadlinQ helper and every phone gets the new controller on next pair. No phone-side update needed, ever.

Common questions about the in-browser experience.

Does the controller really run entirely in a phone browser?

Yes. The controller draws itself in a normal webpage, reads your taps and tilts, and sends those button presses straight to your PC over an encrypted connection. No App Store, no Play Store, no permissions to grant.

Will it work on iPhone?

Yes. Mobile Safari is a supported target — including the Add to Home Screen path, which launches the controller fullscreen as a PWA with no Safari chrome.

Do I need to be on the same WiFi as my PC?

No, but you can be. By default a small server introduces your phone to your PC and then steps out of the way — they talk to each other directly after that. If your PC can’t reach the internet, PadlinQ detects it and offers one-click LAN-only mode so everything stays on your home WiFi.

How is this different from a native gamepad app?

Native apps make every player install something before they can join. PadlinQ uses a URL. The same controller works on any phone in the room, on any OS, with no friction and no store gatekeepers.