Dish vs the Steam Controller: the 2026 pad, the 2015 original, and your phone

The Steam Controller is back. Valve released a new one on May 4, 2026, at $99, and it sold out in about half an hour. If you’re waiting for stock, or wondering whether you need one at all, this post compares it with Dish. It also covers the 2015 original, which Dish can still put to use.

Dish isn’t a controller you hold. It’s software that turns your phone, or a pad you already own, into a wireless controller for your gaming PC over Wi-Fi. So the real question is what a $99 pad does that your current setup can’t, and the reverse.

The short version

	Steam Controller (2026)	Steam Controller (2015)	Dish
Price	$99	Discontinued in 2019	Free
Connection	2.4 GHz puck, Bluetooth, or USB-C	2.4 GHz dongle or USB	Your Wi-Fi
Trackpads	Two, pressure-sensitive	Two	The phone’s screen, as a touchpad or a mouse
Gyro	Yes	Yes	Yes, from your pad or the phone itself
Battery	Rechargeable, about 35 hours (Valve’s rating)	Two AA batteries	Your phone’s, or your pad’s
What games see	A controller configured through Steam Input	The same	A standard Xbox or PlayStation pad

Where the Steam Controller is the better pick

Trackpad games. Two pressure-sensitive trackpads let you play mouse-driven games (strategy games, point-and-click adventures, menus built for a mouse) in a way thumbsticks don’t. A flat phone screen can stand in as a touchpad or a mouse, but it doesn’t feel the same.

Steam Input. Steam’s configuration system has action sets, chorded bindings, per-game profiles, and community layouts for most of the Steam library. Dish shows your games a standard pad and leaves that kind of remapping to Steam.

One device, long battery. Valve rates the new controller at about 35 hours, and its grip buttons, capacitive sticks, and drift-resistant TMR sensors are hardware a phone doesn’t have.

Where Dish is the better pick

It costs nothing. If you already own a controller, or a phone, Dish makes it wireless for your gaming PC for free.

It’s available now. No stock alerts. Install it and pair in about five minutes.

Across the house. Dish runs over your Wi-Fi, so your range is your network’s range. A 2.4 GHz dongle is built for the room it’s plugged into.

Couch co-op. Several phones can pair to one PC, each its own controller, so a four-player night doesn’t need four controllers.

DualSense owners. With Satellite on Windows, a DualSense held at the couch keeps its HD haptics and adaptive triggers in games like 007 First Light. See DualSense haptics on PC without a cable.

Games outside Steam. Your games see a standard Xbox or PlayStation pad, so launchers and emulators that ignore Steam Input work the same as Steam games.

Keep your 2015 Steam Controller going

The original Steam Controller left production in 2019, but plenty are still around, and Dish can use one.

On Android, plug it into your phone over USB, wired or through its wireless dongle, and turn on Direct mode for it. Dish reads its sticks, triggers, buttons, motion, and the right trackpad as a right stick. While Dish uses it, the controller stops acting as a mouse and keyboard for the phone, and it’s handed back as it was when Dish lets go. If it drops off the dongle, no input stays stuck. Dish for Windows and Dish for Linux can claim it over USB too.

We built this without one on hand, so reports from owners are welcome. The 2026 model isn’t on Dish’s supported list yet.

How to try Dish

Install Dish on your phone, or Dish for Windows or Dish for Linux on a PC or Steam Deck with your controller plugged in.
Install Satellite on your gaming PC.
Open Dish. It finds your gaming PC on its own. Tap it and type the 4-digit PIN from Satellite’s dashboard.
Press a button. Your game responds.