Google is working on a way to control games on Google TV using a phone instead of a separate Bluetooth gamepad. New code strings in the app’s latest version point to the feature, Android Authority reports, citing an APK teardown.
In build 4.39.4903.975565386.7 of the Google TV app, developer AssembleDebug found the text strings “Gamepad” and “Joystick.” The app also picked up a new setting called GamingRemoteFeature__enable_gamepad. Google TV already lets phones act as a touchscreen remote for the interface. The new strings suggest that control is about to extend to games themselves — one of several gaming pushes the platform has seen lately, including Xbox Cloud Gaming’s arrival on the platform.
The feature will likely work like the touchscreen gamepad Google already built for foldable phones in Android 17, with on-screen buttons and a joystick. The difference is where the controls point: instead of a game running on the phone’s own screen, they’d control a game running on the TV.
Third-party apps already offer phone-as-controller support, so the idea itself isn’t new. Still, official backing from Google could push more game development for the platform, which has long struggled with the lack of a convenient controller out of the box. Google is unlikely to release a physical gamepad of its own after the Stadia debacle, so a phone-based solution looks like a reasonable middle ground.
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The feature hasn’t shipped yet, and it’s unclear whether it ever will — the code findings point to work in progress, not a finished product.
