The $170 Backbone Pro Mobile Controller Falls Just Short of Premium

In an effort to grow beyond smartphones, Backbone is present selling an everything controller. Just similar the Backbone One, the caller $170 Backbone Pro turns a telephone into a speedy and soiled gaming handheld, but with added Bluetooth connectivity, it besides connects to a PC oregon astute TV. If you’re the traveling kind, it promises to beryllium the lone prime (albeit expensive) controller you request to instrumentality with you. Or it would beryllium a coagulated 2-in-1 gamepad if—unlike me—you seemingly person tremendous hands.

See Backbone Pro astatine Amazon

There has to beryllium thing exemplary astir a “Pro” device, particularly to warrant the $170 terms compared to the $100 you wage for the Backbone One. If you justice it simply by its on-paper diagnostic set, there’s not truthful overmuch that stands out. The caller mobile controller has a brace of backmost buttons connected some the near and close grips. Not breathtaking enough? The Backbone Pro besides houses a peculiar pairing fastener for connecting to outer devices—mainly PC, Mac, oregon TV—over Bluetooth. You tin harvester it with the Backbone+ app for fastener mapping and casual swapping betwixt connected devices with the caller “FlowState” feature.

That casual swapping is particularly bully for gaming connected aggregate devices, but is it the controller you honestly privation to usage for some PC and mobile? Controllers unrecorded and dice by however they consciousness successful your hands. If you’ve ever held a Backbone One, you person a bully thought of the wide consciousness for the “Pro” controller, adjacent though determination are subtle improvements. The precocious constituent of the Backbone One is the D-pad and look buttons, which aren’t overly large adjacent though they person the benignant of clicky feeling I bask astir connected low-profile controls. This pricier Backbone includes Hall effect triggers, but adjacent if the caller full-size thumbsticks are responsive, they are inactive the accepted ALPS-type sensor. These usage potentiometers to cipher the predisposition of the stick, and that tin pb to deterioration and instrumentality drift, whereas Hall effect sticks usually past longer. Hall effect sticks would beryllium much invited connected a gamepad whose full-sized sticks could get knocked astir successful your backpack erstwhile traveling.

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The Backbone Pro’s satin-textured grips person the consciousness I usually lone get from premium devices, but is it $170 premium? If I had to judge, it wasn’t rather connected par with high-end “Pro” level devices from the likes of SCUF, Razer, oregon adjacent an Xbox Elite wireless controller. These devices usually outgo person to $200 oregon more, truthful the Backbone Pro needs to beryllium pitch-perfect. Using the controller, I recovered my hands were large capable that I needed to set my grip ever-so-slightly if I wanted to entree the look buttons oregon D-pad portion maintaining speedy entree to the thumbsticks. It’s not a occupation erstwhile playing immoderate mobile titles oregon emulating retro titles. When playing a much modern crippled specified arsenic The Elder Scrolls V: Oblivion remake done Xbox Game Pass, I had to set my grip much than I was utilized to.

A larger instrumentality similar a Gamesir G8+ fits my hands better, but its controls don’t consciousness astir arsenic polished arsenic the Backbone Pro. There are different trade-offs to consider. Unlike the Backbone One, determination is nary mentation of the Pro that supports Apple’s Lightning connection. The Razer Kishi Ultra astatine $150 extends acold capable to acceptable a tiny tablet, but the Backbone Pro doesn’t adjacent agelong to let for the astir caller iPad mini’s 8.3-inch screen. That’s wherever Bluetooth could travel successful handy, if lone I could screen oregon region the USB-C dongle to acceptable my non-standard instrumentality inside.

Combined with a foldable telephone similar the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold, the Backbone Pro became a benignant of pseudo gaming handheld that was particularly useful for playing games that acceptable its wonky 20:9 facet ratio, specifically Diablo Immortal. Add connected the easiness of the Backbone+ app, and the Backbone Pro makes streaming games done Nvidia GeForce Now oregon Xbox Game Pass acold much of a console-like experience. The app promotes its “dual screen” acquisition erstwhile playing connected PC oregon TV. However, it’s lone utile for checking the complaint connected some the controller and the phone.

The artillery beingness is possibly the Backbone Pro’s champion feature. I could spell for astir 3 hours without seeing the instrumentality dipping into the 20% mark. The gamepad besides includes astute passthrough charging that tops disconnected some the telephone and built-in artillery astatine once. I can’t sound the physique prime connected the Backbone Pro. It has controls I’d beryllium blessed to usage connected practically immoderate different gaming device, though lone if I didn’t person immoderate of my different preferred controls around.

The Backbone Pro is the wireless controller I would gaffe into my backpack if that abstraction already wasn’t occupied with my Steam Deck. As for a mobile controller that would really acceptable successful my pocket, I’ll conscionable support waiting for MCon to gaffe into my life.

See Backbone Pro astatine Amazon