So in updating the
Game Service OP posts I noticed Backbone released a Pro unit that offers major upgrades to its longtime bestselling controller designed for smartphones. Preorders opened up back in May, but it's now out and already shot to the #1 "new release" bestseller on Amazon's "
Cell Phone Gaming Controller" chart in its first three months.
Backbone Pro is built for players who demand more — more precision, more comfort, more freedom. Designed with full-sized ALPS joysticks, rear buttons, and a larger ergonomic shape, it delivers pro-level control for every session. FlowState technology lets you move seamlessly between mobile...
backbone.com
Reddit FAQ: Backbone Pro controller
Reviews:
- Digital Trends (4.5/5.0; "The best mobile controller shoots for the stars, and lands further")
- PC Mag (4.0 out of 5; "The Backbone Pro performs well...and feels better in the hand than its predecessor")
- IGN (9.0/10.0; "The Backbone Pro...meaningfully improves on just about every feature that made the original so great")
- Tom's Guide ("...deserves a place among the best phone controllers")
- CNET (for "Bluetooth-equipped devices...the Backbone Pro's probably the slickest option out there")
- Gizmodo (3.5/5.0; "The Backbone Pro is the wireless controller I would slip into my backpack if that space already wasn’t occupied with my Steam Deck")
- Techradar (4.0/5.0; "The Backbone Pro is an excellent mobile controller, but I'm not convinced by its cloud gaming features")
- How-To Geek (9.0/10.0; "If you...care about the Bluetooth functionality...the Backbone Pro might be the best controller you can buy...")
- TechRaptor (9.0/10.0; "If you've been waiting for a controller for your phone, this is going to be the one you want to buy")
- Windows Central (4.5/5.0; "The Backbone Pro is truly a magnificent controller, not just for mobile gaming, but even PC gaming too.")
- Apple Insider (3.0/5.0; "Removing the price from the equation, the Backbone Pro is excellent")
- Cult of Mac (5.0/5.0; "The Backbone One used to be the best option for a wrap-around iPhone game controller. But now there’s the Backbone Pro...")
- Android Authority (4.0/5.0; "If budget is no concern, the Backbone Pro will elevate your mobile gaming experience")
- Thurrott ("Highly Recommended")
Easily the biggest difference between this and the
Backbone One is that it has its own battery. It actually has two, with two possible configurations, you don't get to choose, totaling either 1052 or 1320 mAh (likely due to different production runs). It promises 40h of play via Bluetooth, but of course you'll want to use the USB-C to wire in for lower latency which will draw more energy. Gaming wears down batteries very fast, so I never understood why the controllers without their own batteries were so popular just because they're a bit lighter. Because doing that means the phone has to power the game
and the controller. I suppose it's just because they're usually cheaper.
It also upgrades the One's compact generic thumbsticks to full-size ALPS analog sticks, upgrades the triggers & bumpers to magnetic hall effect technology, improves the button click quality and makes them remappable, adds two programmable paddles, textures & contours the grips, and adds the option to connect the controllers wirelessly via Bluetooth to use less energy (the One couldn't). It has a headphone jack.
This is one of those products aimed at gamers who play games on Android/iOS that support controllers, or who cloud-stream games. Google is a mess about telling you what these are, but they offer a "Controller Carousel" in the Play Pass section of the store. Backbone rescues them from their incompetence. They've built their own tool showing all mobile games that support their controller, and with filters including for store platform. It's 558 controller-supporting games for the entire Google Play Store; there is no filter for the
Play Pass service, unfortunately. In comparison, the Apple App Store has 1,213 controller-supporting games overall; there are exactly 138 on the
Apple Arcade service, and you can easily find this in the "Arcade" tab of the app store itself if you go to "All Games", then hit the "Controller Supported" slider:
Browse all controller games for mobile with controller support across all major gaming consoles & cloud streaming services. Search by platform, genre & more.
app.backbone.com
Cloud-streaming used to be limited on Game Pass to Ultimate subscribers, but one of the only silver linings of the price hike is that you can cloud-stream with
any Game Pass tier now. The cloud-supported libraries are just different sizes. NVIDIA GeForce Now and Amazon Luna also enable cloud-streaming to mobile devices. Playstation Plus cloud-streaming doesn't yet support Android or iOS, so you can only stream via remote play from a PS5 (and only a PS5) to your phone on the same WiFi network, meaning the Backbone isn't an ideal product for that service; instead Sony makes the
PS Portal for this function that lets you roam and connect to their cloud via any WiFi Network. Steam offers a similarly less-than-ideal situation via Remote Play with your PC, but they phased out the Steam Link three years ago, and it wasn't designed for portability in the first place, so they don't even have a device like the Portal to fill the gap.
The Gizmodo reviewer
pointed out it still doesn't extend enough to support the iPad Mini, unlike its much cheaper competitor the
Gamesir X5s, so for now, foldable screen phones like the
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 are the largest screens you can expect to use with it. Ironically, though, those two devices have an identical screen area (31.8"). For perspective:
Screen Area
10.7" =
PS Vita
15.1" =
iPhone 17
16.4" =
Nintendo Switch
18.1" =
iPhone 17 Pro Max
20.9" =
ROG Xbox Ally & ROG Xbox Ally X
22.4" =
Steam Deck LCD
24.6" =
Steam Deck OLED
26.7" =
Nintendo Switch 2
27.4" =
PS Portal
31.8" =
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 (unfolded)
31.8" =
iPad Mini (2024 & 2021 models)
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 inside Backone Pro (8.0" 1968x2184 screen, ~16:18 aspect ratio, 31.8" sq. in)
The top battery-including competitors are the previously mentioned
Gamesir X5s at $40 on Prime Day sale, and the more premium
Gamesir G8 Plus for $80. The
SCUF Nomad is another iOS competitor on sale for $30 directly from SCUF. The top premium competitors that don't include a battery are the
Razer Kishi Ultra for $105 and the
Gamesir G8 Galileo for $80. On the budget side, the non-battery version of the X5s is the bestselling product of all, the
Gamesir X5s Lite, probably because it has the lowest non-sale price ($35), and because it supports just about any device in terms of size or OS (it's also physically very light).
