The Wii U GamePad has a 6.2 inch touchscreen that is capable of HD graphics. The GamePad has the 4 traditional "A, B, Y, and X" buttons, a D-Pad and dual control sticks that act as buttons themselves. There are four shoulder buttons: The ZL and ZR buttons, and the L and R buttons. Also on the front of the controller are the start (+) and select (-) buttons. There is a stylus that is similar to the Nintendo DS' stylus, used for the touchscreen. This controller also has a home button that can suspend the game while you use the home menu, and a TV control button. The Wii U GamePad features an inner-facing camera, a microphone, stereo speakers, a sensor strip, a rumble system, accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, a rechargeable battery and built-in flash memory to store data.

Off TV Play is a feature of the Wii U's GamePad. It allows users to play Wii U games on the GamePad instead of a television by displaying generated image from the console on the GamePad. The feature does not support all games. Games, such as ZombiU, which require the simultaneous use of both a TV and the GamePad to play, do not support Off TV play. As of version 5.0.0, Wii games can be viewed on the GamePad as well as audio, but you can't control it using the GamePad. You can use the built-in sensor bar on the GamePad as well.