The best phone companion apps, according to hackers
3 phone companion apps were recommended on Hacker News between November 2025 and November 2026. We rank them by how many separate people recommend each one, and 2 earn the Hacker Approved badge.
Top picks
The two most recommended phone companion apps with the badge. Each figure is 5 people. RecommendsCriticizes One comment
Clipboard and file sharing
Free app that links Android phones with Windows, Linux and macOS, sharing clipboard, files and notifications. Common caveat: iOS support is limited and connections often drop.
Smooth, stable and easy to use
Free tool that shows and controls an Android phone on a computer, praised for smooth, easy operation. Critics report navigation stopping and high latency.
All 3 phone companion apps, ranked
Select a column heading to sort. Approval share is recommenders out of everyone who gave an opinion; the tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs. Months counts the months, out of 13, in which someone recommended it.
| Rank | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | KDE Connect | 73 | 13 | 85% | 12 | — | Approved |
| 2 | scrcpy | 25 | 2 | 93% | 4 | — | Approved |
| 3 | Microsoft Phone Link | 5 | 1 | 83% | 3 | — | — |
How we rank
Rank is the number of separate people who recommend a product in a Hacker News comment over the past year. Someone who praises the same phone companion app in five threads counts once.
The badge goes to phone companion apps that at least 10 people recommend, with recommenders outnumbering critics at least 2 to 1, recommended in at least 4 of the 13 months.
Rankings are never for sale. We may earn a commission when you buy through our links. It never changes the order.