Comparison

Dabble vs GamePad & Controller Tester

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Dabble

Control and communicate with hardware like Arduino and ESP32 using your smartphone's sensors and Bluetooth. This app transforms your phone into a virtual controller, offering modules for LED control, terminal commands, gamepad functionality, and access to phone sensors.

Highlights
  • LED Brightness Control
  • Terminal for text and voice commands
  • Gamepad control (analog, digital, accelerometer)
  • Pin State Monitor
  • Phone Sensor access (GPS, mic, accelerometer, etc.)
  • Scratch & Arduino compatible projects
Features
Read full description

Dabble is a versatile project interaction & Bluetooth controller app for Arduino, ESP32 & evive that replaces a wide variety of electronic components and exploits the inbuilt features and sensors of your Smartphone like the GPS, mic & accelerometer thus transforming into a virtual treasury of infinite shields & more. It lets you control & communicate with hardware via Bluetooth. It also provides you with dedicated projects compatible with Scratch & Arduino to help you learn by doing. What Dabble has in store: Currently Available Modules: • LED Brightness Control: Control brightness of LEDs and digital/analog pins. • Terminal: Send and receive textual and voice commands over Bluetooth. • Gamepad: Control devices/robot in analog (Joystick), digital, and accelerometer mode. • Pin State Monitor: Remotely monitor the live status of devices and debug them. • Phone Sensor: Access different sensors of your Smartphone such as the accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity sensor, magnetometer, light meter, sound meter, GPS, temperature sensor, and barometer to make projects and conduct experiments. Coming Soon: • Motor Control (Coming Soon): Control actuators such as the DC motor and servo motor. • Inputs (Coming Soon): Provide analog and digital inputs via buttons, knobs, and switches. • Camera (Coming Soon): Use the camera of your Smartphone for taking photos, record videos, colour picking, and face recognition (coming soon). • IoT (Coming Soon): Log data, publish it on cloud, and access data from API. • Oscilloscope (Coming Soon): Visualize and analyse the input and output signals given to the device using the oscilloscope module. • Music (Coming Soon): Receive commands from the device and play tones, songs, or other recorded audio files on your Smartphone. • Projects (Coming Soon): Make dedicated projects to experience different concepts of the real world first-hand like home automation, line-follower, and robotic arm. Boards Compatible with Dabble: • evive • Arduino Uno • Arduino Mega • Arduino Nano • ESP32 Bluetooth Modules Compatible with Dabble: • HM-10 BT 4.0 BLE (or AT-09) Want to know more about Dabble? Visit:  https://thestempedia.com/product/dabble/ Module Documentation: https://thestempedia.com/docs/dabble/ Getting Started with Dabble: https://thestempedia.com/docs/dabble/getting-started-with-dabble/ Projects that you can make: https://thestempedia.com/product/dabble-app/ Permissions required for: Bluetooth: to provide connectivity. Microphone: to send voice commands and use the sound meter. Location: to use Location sensor and BLE.

About

GamePad & Controller Tester

Diagnose and troubleshoot wireless game controllers with ease. Connect via Bluetooth to visualize all button presses, stick movements, and pressure-sensitive inputs for various popular console and MFi controllers.

Highlights
  • Controller connection via Bluetooth
  • Real-time visualization of actions and sticks
  • Pressure-sensitive button detection
  • Support for multiple controller types
  • Custom designs for different controllers
Features
Read full description

GamePad & Controller Tester helps you to test or troubleshoot your wireless game controllers and gamepads in just few clicks. Easily connect to your controller using Bluetooth and you ready to go. This app works with PlayStation 5 DualSense® Wireless Controller, PlayStation Dualshock® 4 Controller, Xbox Wireless Controller and any "Made for iPhone" (MFI) Game Controllers. Key Features: - Multiple Types of Controllers supported - Complete Controller Actions and Sticks Visualization - All Pressure Sensitive Buttons - Different Designs Support Each Controller Information About Purchases: - 1 month subscription - $12.99 per month - Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase - Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period - Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period. The cost depends on the selected plan - Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase - Any unused portion of the free trial will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription Privacy Policy: https://mobilesolutionsapps.com/gamepad/privacy Terms of Use: https://mobilesolutionsapps.com/gamepad/terms

Screenshots

Dabble4 screens
GamePad & Controller Tester4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Dabble at 3.9 against GamePad & Controller Tester's 2.7. Dabble also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ads (none vs shown). On price, ratings volume, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. GamePad & Controller Tester sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $12.99 per month. Dabble asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Dabble holds the better App Store score, 3.9 against 2.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 128 and 242 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 75% of Dabble's written reviews are positive against 48% of GamePad & Controller Tester's.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Dabble versus GamePad & Controller Tester: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDabbleGamePad & Controller Tester
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.9 (128 ratings) — better2.7 (242 ratings)
Positive reviews75.0% of reviews — better47.7% of reviews
Number of ratings128242 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 months—
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.011.0
Further details — not scored
Size18 MB42 MB
Age rating4++4
DeveloperSTEMpediaMOBILESOURCE CORPORATION

Customer experience

Dabble

All ratings128 ratings
Positive71.9%
Neutral7.8%
Negative20.3%
Written reviews56 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral5.4%
Negative19.6%

GamePad & Controller Tester

All ratings242 ratings
Positive43.0%
Neutral2.9%
Negative54.1%
Written reviews65 reviews
Positive47.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative52.3%

User reviews

Dabble

From 128 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use for beginners
  • 🚀 Works well with ESP32 and Arduino
  • 💰 Free and fully functional
  • 💡 Great for robotics projects
  • 📱 Useful phone sensors

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Gamepad issues on iOS
  • 🐛 Not all functions available on iPhone
  • 🐛 GPS data transfer unreliable
  • 🐛 Phone sensor data flaky
  • 🐛 UI issues on older versions

GamePad & Controller Tester

From 242 App Store ratings

What we love

  • ✅ Accurate controller testing functionality
  • 👍 User-friendly interface and navigation
  • 🚀 Quick and efficient performance
  • 📊 Real-time feedback on button presses
  • 🎮 Supports multiple controller types

Room to improve

  • 💰 Requires premium subscription for full features
  • 🚫 Limited functionality in free version
  • 🐛 Controller pairing issues
  • ❌ Doesn't control console from phone
  • 😤 Misleading app description

Bugs and requests

Dabble

Reported bugs

15 issues
  • Gamepad doesn't work on iOS
  • Joystick values are blank on iOS
  • Buttons do not show for gamepad
  • Controller function broken on iPhones without a home button
  • Gamepad won't turn, only shows left/right controls, format off
Show 10 more
  • Gamepad doesn't load properly, shows only two arrows
  • Game pad section is useless after iOS 16 update, doesn't show entire gamepad
  • Lag and robot continues to move
  • Joystick resets values when action button is pressed
  • GPS data transfer not reliable
  • Phone sensor data is flaky
  • UI completely messed up due to no updates
  • Auto connect problem (BLE services in reverse order)
  • Doesn't connect to Nintendo Switch Lite, no SYNC button
  • Gamepad doesn't display on iPhone 8, works on iPad

Requested features

7 requests
  • More buttons on gamepad or custom gamepad creation
  • Additional controller types (joystick, button rows)
  • Ability to map terminal commands to virtual actions/notifications
  • Offline automation and scripts for iOS
  • Xbox controller support
Show 2 more
  • Motor control on iPhone
  • Pro version with more options

GamePad & Controller Tester

Reported bugs

7 issues
  • Controller not detected during pairing
  • App shows wrong controller type (e.g., Xbox instead of Switch)
  • Controller becomes unresponsive after using app
  • Bluetooth pairing failures
  • Subscription charges continuing after cancellation
Show 2 more
  • App crashes or freezes during testing
  • Trackpad detection not working

Requested features

7 requests
  • Ability to control console directly from phone
  • Free tier with more functionality
  • Better controller compatibility detection
  • Pressure sensitivity detection for DualSense
  • Advanced drift statistics and metrics
Show 2 more
  • Support for more controller types
  • Improved pairing process

In-app purchases

None

Dabble

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

GamePad & Controller Tester

Subscriptions1
  • Premium3 Days trial$12.991 Month

Questions

Is Dabble free?
Dabble is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is GamePad & Controller Tester free?
GamePad & Controller Tester is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Dabble or GamePad & Controller Tester?
Dabble is rated higher. Dabble averages 3.9 out of 5 from 128 ratings, while GamePad & Controller Tester averages 2.7 from 242 ratings.
Do Dabble or GamePad & Controller Tester have ads?
GamePad & Controller Tester shows ads; Dabble does not.

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