Backbone Pro hands-on: A pricey controller for more than just your phone

A look at the new Backbone One: a 2020 birth that instantly changed the mobile-gaming landscape. Forget those dizzy Bluetooth pairings-the gorgeous controller turns your phone into a Nintendo Switch-esque powerhouse, ready for Xbox Cloud Gaming, GeForce Now, retro emulators, or just some touch-screen-bashing fun. Of course, youcouldsimply clip your phone onto a console controller, but Backbone One offers better ergonomics. It is not the only telescopic gamepad out there, but it remains a champion that lands on all the improvement lists (including Engadget’s Mat Smith’s own one in 2022).

Backbone is certainly not resting on the success of its iterations thus far. They are calling it a bombshell: the Backbone Pro. Think of it as the One but louder than anything you’ve ever heard. The grips are so comfortable that you’ll forget you’re holding the controller. Silky smooth joysticks, triggers that call to be pulled, and buttons so silent even a ninja would be jealous of them.

Here’s the thing with Bluetooth: it loosed the beast. That is no longer just a phone accessory. PCs, iPads, even a smart TV are considered fair game now. Another very nifty thing that Backbone has created is the “FlowState” app feature. One tap, and you simply flow between the devices you just paired with; no more awkward fumbling.

Did you say your goal in your gaming life is to achieve glory within it? Then go to Backbone Pro at Backbone.com or purchase from Bestbuy and get ready to ship soon! Thank goodness for the health of your thumb.

Enough with the juggling of controllers. Back in the heart of NYC, Backbone’s CEO Maneet Khaira stated that [The Pro] is not just any gadget; it’s the portal deluxe. One device to rule all gaming. Any game, any screen, anytime.

The Backbone Pro speaks to Khaira’s bold vision in mobile gaming, offering a concrete glimpse into the future of mobile gaming. It certainly has a premium feel to it, a notch above the $100 sibling (which is staying put). But at $170, this view comes at a very high price: maybe too steep for many. Suddenly, we are at Xbox Elite territory, but for a controller mostly tethered to your phone. And again, some of the most compelling features in the Backbone app require a Backbone+ subscription for an extra $40 per year.

A better Backbone

Jeff Dunn for Engadget

The Backbone Pro is not merely a phone accessory; it is a chameleon adapting to your whole gaming setup. For unlocking its full potential, think beyond the use of mobile. Considered as a phone controller, the Pro is a remarkable improvement over the Backbone One. Those grip designs running on the slightest of ergonomic principles are the reason behind its success. The slim profile of the One is forgotten as the Pro comes equipped with thick, deeply-grooved handles that conform to the palm of your hands like a perfect glove. The comfortable design carries away any tiredness that could set in during prolonged gaming hours, and the grips, darn near hard to lose, have a soft touch and sweat-proof matte finish on them-even in the heat of those intense gaming sessions.

Forget this joystick drift frustration. The sticks of Khaira Pro, while not built with expensive magnetic hall effect for ultimate longevity-there is a sting with that price-were an absolute sensual pleasure to control. Consider smooth operation and tight responsiveness on the feedback side of things-The concave height with ringed grip feels somewhat familiar. Khaira says these resemble the Xbox Elite and DualSense Edge controllers in design and, honestly? They do feel premium. Want even more control? The Backbone app offers comprehensive button remapping and dead zone tweakability. Create profiles, and conquer every game your way.

Backbone

The face buttons now whisper instead of shout, a minuscule shift from click-snap stiffness to velvet smoothness into a satisfying, deeper plunge. Triggers? Think spacious terraces for the fingers-a welcome upgrade for those of us with larger hands who felt cramped on the previous model. Shoulder buttons have stretched out to provide more real estate, while the menu buttons have popped out, finally within easy reach. The D-pad retains its satisfying firmness and precision, now cloaked in a glossy sheen. Then, the pièce de resistance: programmable back buttons perfectly positioned for your ring fingers, an unspoken guarantee of bespoke control without a single accidental misfire.

The Pro, with chunkier grips, sits tall compared to the One, but it can still slip inside your pocket. And, shockingly, it undercuts your standard Xbox or PlayStation controller by an 80-gram weight loss, weighing a total of 199 grams. Adaptable inserts are back. This cradle supports everything from naked handsets to pretty chunky cased behemoths. My iPhone 15 Plus, sheathed in Apple’s Clear Case, sits rock solid. There are pass-through headphone jack and charging port, but watch it: USB-C only; older Lightning iPhones are left on the outside looking in. Wirelessly, the Pro draws juice from your phone to charge itself. Backbone says 40 hours of battery life will be there for you; while I haven’t really tested it to its last breath, the battery life hasn’t really bothered me during my early gaming sessions.

Looking past the phone

You can quickly connect the Backbone Pro to new devices from this menu in Backbone’s app.

(Jeff Dunn for Engadget / Backbone)

Don’t bother messing around with Bluetooth settings; it is quite unnecessary. Backbone Pro gives you all the easy screen switching. There are a dedicated button to pair that initiates it and an app that helps you intuitively link your devices during setup. Once paired, the Pro remembers your screens like someone who really knows the gaming scene. Switching involves just tapping a device in the app and hitting Connect. Whether Bluetooth is on or not, bam-instant reconnection. The single caveat is that you’ll need to have your phone physically hooked up to the Pro through USB-C whenever performing swaps in the app. Outside of that, switching screens is slicker than a beautifully executed combo.

The Pro slots perfectly in the multi-screen gaming future that Xbox and other brands are working on. It goes something like: Wife has hogged the TV; no big deal. I launch a Game Pass stream ofClair Obscuron my phone. Once she is done with her show,Bam!I am on the Fire TV Stick. Next up is a Balatro marathon on the PC, moved smoothly to the iPad through Steam Link. The icing on the cake? The whole experience also means I never had to juggle controllers or re-pair them. I just pick up my phone, tap on the device to play on, and bam, right into the game I go. Cloud streaming also lets me resume mid-session on another screen, as long as I don’t dawdle. While the Pro may not be theonlycontroller that offers such a degree of gaming freedom, its phone-first kind of setup with super-speed pairing actually makes it the best-ever play-anywhere companion.

Top to bottom: an Xbox Series X/S controller, the Backbone Pro and the Backbone One.

(Jeff Dunn for Engadget)

Whenever you try peeling a little bit of this glossy finish from the Pro, certain cracks do view. The largest? It is a walled garden. Forget seamless connectivity for Xbox, PS5, or Switch-The Backbone proprietary tech locks you right out. It is not entirely their fault, true as it is. Yet calling the Pro a “universal gaming” solution sounds a little hollow when it can’t tap into the consoles where millions actually spend their gaming time.

The full range of knobs that are there for it to be bumped earn Pro a small measure of credibility as a worthy contender versus the other mobile gamepads. Still, it’s more like conducting an orchestra in a phone booth. My thumb is constantly in conflict with the right joystick due to the cramped conditions below the face buttons. Ample trigger depth notwithstanding, they sit on the far end of the spectrum with respect to feel, barely worthy of being called a satisfying pull. The Pro is so very much on the comfy side and polished, to boot. It is a Godsend for the avid mobile gamer. Comparing the two is like comparing a cozy little studio apartment with a sprawling mansion there is just more space.

Let’s get real for a hot minute: these costs can very well skyrocket faster than your K/D ratio. The Backbone Pro by no means comes cheaply. Want to pay the price to get that full-blooded cloud gaming experience with Xbox Cloud Gaming or GeForce Now? Need to subscribe. A tempting Apple Arcade? Yes, another subscription. Remote play? That is, only if you already have a console or gaming PC. To top it all, even Backbone locks some of the features, like launching cloud games right from the app, behindone moremembership. This makes one wonder, exactly, who is this thing for? How often do translation-free hardcore gamers shelling $170 for a controller actually use that controller to game on their phones? And if they are serious enough to have an Xbox or a PS5, would they really be using their bad-boy controller? Is a subscription-laden controller something that really ticks the boxes for gamers?

The Backbone app neatly corrals your games for easy launching. However, prepare for a slight snag: diving straight into cloud gaming realms like Xbox Cloud Gaming and NVIDIA GeForce Now from within the app demands unlocking a premium subscription.

(Jeff Dunn for Engadget / Backbone)

Overcoming the initial hiccups, the app glistens in its sleek design that morphs into a vibrant control center for your gaming universe. Imagine a single place where you can assemble and manage your collection of games and streaming services. Never a pain to discover something new to venture into, thanks to a search function that sorts and dices titles according to platform. Tap on an opus, and the map flashes, revealing every platform where you can play!

Not just a patch, Backbone’s next update will be a time machine. It will see the release of the in-built emulator that can bring back the classics: NES, SNES, Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, and Nintendo 64 libraries. Whispers of PlayStation 1 and PSP support are floating around, too. Loading your ROMs is easy, immediately filling your game hub with retro gems.

There’s a certain fine print attached to this: the serene journey down nostalgia lane comes with a Backbone+ subscription. Cool idea, but a little barebones now is what best describes the emulator. Just barebones when compared to the ocean of features of RetroArch. No save states except the vanilla ones, no messing with resolution, and no rewinds for those oh-so-frustrating moments. And to add to that, some users are complaining: bug reports crop up with certain titles refusing to load.

Even with the quirks, Backbone does keep adding more features. But in the world of free and even better emulators, $5.00 may not be the worth for the experience of rebirth into glory dayswith Backbone+. Is the convenience worth the subscription fee, or are you better off exploring other free options?

The Backbone Pro: A Premium Price for a Premium Experience?

Now imagine the Backbone One that has evolved and not just iterated-a promise never to be fulfilled by the Pro. This definitely does bring the better hardware and, probably more importantly, cross-device compatibility. However, with its big price tag that tariff paranoia has probably just been fueling, it would definitely make it a luxury item.

The Pro is priced much higher than other cheaper, yet decent at that, alternatives for mobile gamepads. But for the hard-coded gamer who bleeds hours on mobile and larger screens, the excellence of the Pro justifies the expense. The Pro is the top grade in a niche market, but whether it is worth thevalueis another question altogether.

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