BackBone Pro
MSRP $169.99
“Backbone Pro reaches the summit of what a mobile controller can accomplish, and then dives further into a the realm of a do-it-all device. It doesn’t come cheap, but delivers beyond it’s ballpark.””
Pros
Outstanding construct high quality
Excellent triggers and thumbsticks
Dual-mode connectivity
A rewarding companion app
Unified retro emulation cores
Cons
Relatively dear for a cell controller
Features tied to annual subscription
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Thoughtful design, beautiful construct
The best-grade inputs on the market
A flexible gaming expertise
A rewarding controller app
Verdict
Mobile gaming is having a second, and with extra fervor on Apple’s ecosystem than Android. Finding the correct controller, nonetheless, will be an arduous job. In 2020, Backbone landed on the scene and immediately grew to become a sizzling favourite for gaming on telephones.
Over the years, the corporate has launched two iterations of its One controller, and even one for PlayStation followers. With its newest, the Backbone Pro, the corporate hopes you gained’t search for one other controller. From cell and cloud gadgets to PC and VR {hardware}, that is one controller to rule all of them.
Nadeem Sarwar / Digital Trends
Backbone went again to the engineering desk and made a number of adjustments to make sure that the Pro can be utilized in USB-tethered mode, in addition to a standalone mode. That mandated a bulk-up, but additionally launched perks that gaming fanatics will love. The value remains to be at a premium, however the sum complete of this $169.99 bundle is greater than what you’d get from a mean controller.
Thoughtful design, beautiful construct
Nadeem Sarwar / Digital Trends
The Backbone Pro is greater and bulkier than its One sibling, although it nonetheless ideas the scales at beneath 200 grams. Maneet Khaira, the founding chief of Backbone, tells me that the flagship controller has been in improvement for over three years and entailed lots of of 3D-printed prototypes.
Over the course of testing, the group carried out digicam seize to finalize probably the most comfy grip, button structure, and even the feel work. The up to date thumbsticks required a number of micrometer-level changes to get them proper.
Nadeem Sarwar / Digital Trends
All the work that went into design and engineering displays throughout utilization. I’ve tried practically half a dozen recreation controllers up to now few months, together with these with a telescoping bar just like the Pro. The Backbone controller stands out with its excellent construct high quality and weight steadiness.
A neat contact on the Pro mannequin is the dotted texture on the deal with. It’s not rubberized, however it nonetheless gives a outstanding surface-level grip. Khaira tells me that the group experimented with a number of laser-etched textures to make sure that it’s not too tough, and doesn’t get the palm sweaty both.
Nadeem Sarwar / Digital Trends
Jumping throughout completely different venues in Grid Legends in a sweltering 98 levels Fahrenheit climate, the Backbone Pro did an admirable job at sustaining floor grip in opposition to my perspiring palms and prevented slipping.
The handles are thicker this time round, and I fairly like them. It’s a private perk as a result of I’ve grown used to the official Xbox controller and felt proper at residence with the Backbone Pro. The added heft can be reassuring. In hindsight, it gives a extra managed expertise if you’re utilizing gyro tilt in racing video games.
Nadeem Sarwar / Digital Trends
The Backbone Pro additionally throws a few customizable rear buttons into the combo. Positioned in direction of the interior facet of the deal with, these curved buttons provide a satisfying click on suggestions and actually come in useful for video games with crowded controls.
The telescopic bar can match any smartphone simply, together with the massive ones just like the iPhone 16 Pro Max and Red Magic 10 Pro. It barely falls wanting accommodating the iPad mini. Thankfully, the controller gained’t trigger any hassle when you don’t wish to take the case off your telephone.
The best-grade inputs on the market
Nadeem Sarwar / Digital Trends
For all that improve in dimension and heft, the Backbone Pro added a critical useful perk. In addition to utilizing it in tethered mode through the USB-C insert, this one may also act as a standalone wi-fi controller for all of your gadgets, together with TVs, tablets, and laptops.
I spent most of my time utilizing the controller in wi-fi mode, burning up hours in Warframe, Alien: Isolation, and the brand new Resident Evil titles. I didn’t run into any points with latency, and the pairing course of was additionally pretty seamless throughout the screens I attempted.
Nadeem Sarwar / Digital Trends
This dexterity additionally ties right into a continuity function for gaming. For instance, when you left enjoying a recreation at a sure level on a big display, you may seamlessly carry it over on a telephone through the official streaming shopper, equivalent to Xbox Cloud.
“We want to support every platform,” Khaira informed me throughout a reside demonstration of the Backbone Pro controller. So far, my very own expertise with enjoying video games throughout numerous codecs has been pretty easy and hassle-free.
Nadeem Sarwar / Digital Trends
In wi-fi mode, the built-in battery is touted to final 40 hours. I couldn’t confirm this quantity, and truthfully, you shouldn’t be involved about it, both. That’s as a result of the controllers permit parallel charging through the USB-C port on the correct deal with.
When plugged in, the port can high up the telephone in addition to the built-in battery. Technically, I by no means ran out of juice throughout my gaming classes. Thankfully, the companion app conveniently exhibits the telephone and the controller’s battery ranges, so you may control the drain.
A flexible gaming expertise
Nadeem Sarwar / Digital Trends
The buttons and sticks you get on the Backbone Pro are arguably the perfect you will see that on a controller on the market. Period. In retrospect, you shouldn’t accept something much less at this asking value.
The spherical motion buttons provide a pleasant clicky suggestions with a satisfying degree of vertical journey, excellent for mashing throughout your dungeon grinds. The D-Pad, in distinction, gives a quieter response, however they’re very well put collectively.
Nadeem Sarwar / Digital Trends
The slight elevation on the sides and a concave profile mix to supply a rewarding round enter for executing combos in preventing video games. The Hall Effect triggers, unsurprisingly, carry out simply as properly and maintain considerations of drifting at bay.
My favourite factor of the controller is the full-sized ALPS joysticks. They have a pleasant texture across the periphery for additional grip. The pair gives exact motion management, particularly in racing video games the place cornering and hand-brake combos require nimble fingers and delicate radial actions.
Nadeem Sarwar / Digital Trends
You can calibrate the set off depth and in addition configure the thumbstick useless zone. Button remapping can be a part of the bundle, however I want the app additionally provided an in-game launcher expertise, the best way labels like Red Magic have executed.
I had a implausible time gaming with the Backbone Pro and might report that the facets equivalent to depth sensitivity, response time, and keypress suggestions are all top-notch. The solely misstep was the occasional bugs within the app, which is to be anticipated whereas working a TestFlight construct.
Nadeem Sarwar / Digital Trends
In the steady model that I used to be working on the Red Magic 10 Pro and OnePlus 13, I didn’t discover any lag or non-responsive buttons. Depending on the platform, you can even save customized key presets and set distinctive profiles, as properly.
A rewarding controller app
The most attractive factor of the Backbone Pro expertise is definitely the cell app. The structure and really feel will probably be second nature to Xbox cell app customers when you’re on Team Green. The app has been superbly designed, and the content material group is gorgeous.
Nadeem Sarwar / Digital Trends
Games are neatly sorted throughout platforms, classes, and the cloud service suppliers. The app acts extra like an aggregator, the place you may seamlessly choose up video games throughout Android, iOS, Apple Arcade, Xbox, Nvidia GeForce Now, and different libraries. And sure, you may launch the video games instantly, as properly.
The recreation playing cards are dynamic, which implies even with out tapping on them, you may get a brief preview of the gameplay. When I launched the app, I obtained entry to a bunch of freebies with the Backbone+ subscription, equivalent to Discord Nitro and Apple Arcade for 3 months.
Nadeem Sarwar / Digital Trends
The greatest shock? A local emulation device within the Backbone app. The group has constructed a unified system the place emulation cores for a number of retro Nintendo consoles have been positioned in a single container. For now, you may take pleasure in video games for SNES, NES, Game Boy, and Game Boy Advance platforms.
The Backbone chief tells me that the emulation stack will go way back to Nintendo 64. When I requested about bringing extra legacy console platforms, Khaira mentioned it’s not about selecting a facet (learn: Sony or Nintendo), however technical capabilities. “We want to support every platform,” he put it bluntly.
Nadeem Sarwar / Digital Trends
Backbone is presently testing emulation cores for PlayStation 1, PSP, and Nintendo DS, in case you’re questioning. When I requested him to dig additional into the challenges at hand, the Backbone chief informed me that the “biggest constraint is memory on the phone.”
Tying all of it collectively is the Backbone+ subscription, which serves a bunch of unique instruments and advantages. Priced at $39.99 per yr, it gives $35 price of in-game advantages, a 30% low cost on Backbone merchandise, the flexibility to document recreation movies at full-HD 60fps with cloud storage, in-app voice chats, and Twitch direct streaming.
Nadeem Sarwar / Digital Trends
The finest, nonetheless, is but to return. Khaira tells me that the subscription bundle will carry extra titles and content material later this yr. “We are working on adding licensed games into the subscription bundle,” he tells me.
In addition to new video games, Backbone envisions providing free video games in addition to immediately playable video games that may work offline with the premium bundle. “We want to bring down the barrier of entry as much as possible,” Khaira explains, including that Backbone hopes to evolve right into a gaming platform of its personal by working with a number of companions within the gaming business.
Nadeem Sarwar / Digital Trends
“We are really trying to be an alternative way to play games.”
– Maneet Khaira, founder and CEO of Backbone.
Verdict
The Backbone Pro is an unabashedly premium controller. But for its $169.99 ask, it inches near the territory the place you discover first-party controllers from the console warlords. But the place the Backbone possibility races forward is the sheer flexibility.
Nadeem Sarwar / Digital Trends
The buttons and joysticks are implausible, and so is the flexibleness of utilizing it in docked in addition to standalone mode throughout completely different platforms. From a {hardware} perspective, it’s pretty much as good because it will get.
If your most well-liked gaming platform is cell gadgets, and the perfect expertise is what you search, the Backbone Pro will serve you simply tremendous. It goes a step additional by providing a implausible catalog aggregator within the cell app. For followers of emulation, the built-in emulator will probably be an enormous draw.
The Backbone One will stay on the shelf at its $99.99 ask, going in opposition to the Razer Kishi V2. And when you’re searching for finances alternate options, the GameSir X5 Lite is a superb possibility. But for folk prepared to spend on the Backbone Pro, you might be in for a premium gaming expertise par excellence.