Reviewing the Backbone Pro controller has opened up gaming on even more of my gadgets

Introduction

Buying tech that’s truly multi-talented can be a great way to save a buck or two. Why get a camera or music player when you’ve got a smartphone in your pocket? Now mobile-first gaming expert Backbone is trying something similar, adding Bluetooth to the mix so you don’t actually need to plug in your phone to play anymore.

The Backbone Pro will pair with your PC, tablet, and even your TV. If you’re not a console convert, that could be enough to make it the last controller you’ll ever buy. It also addresses a few of the Backbone One‘s shortcomings, gains some customisable buttons, and swaps to Xbox-grade inputs.

Upgrades rarely come cheap, though. At $170 (it’s coming to the UK and Europe later down the line) the Pro is almost double the price of the Backbone One. It’s also more expensive than Razer’s rival Kishi V3 Pro, which remains laser focused on mobile but has a few features you won’t find here. Can this Backbone really do it all?

Design & build: same but different

No, I’ve not been using a regular Backbone One by mistake – the Backbone Pro might look awfully familiar, but the firm has made quite a few little tweaks. A new, textured surface on the extendable centre piece is the biggest indicator, although keen eyes will also spot the thumbsticks are now the same size as the ones you’ll get on an Xbox controller.

This is still a telescopic controller first and foremost, its two halves connected by a spring-loaded spine that can swallow pretty much any modern USB-C smartphone. My Google Pixel 9 Pro XL even slotted home securely while still in its official case. Got an older iPhone? Sorry, you’ll have to stick with the older Backbone One with a Lightning connector. Two sets of rubber attachments in the box help you find a firm fit. What this won’t do is open wide enough to grasp a tablet. Even an iPad Mini is a no-go – but that doesn’t matter as much when you can connect via Bluetooth instead.

The grips are more rounded than before, so the whole thing is easier to hold. This has also made room for two re-mappable rear action buttons, almost putting this on par with console-grade Pro controllers for number of additional inputs. Backbone then elongated the triggers in the name of comfort, and quietened the clicky action of the face buttons. It’s still not what I’d call silent, but meant I could finish a level before bedtime without waking up my sleeping wife.

I’d avoid tossing the controller into a bag by itself, as that’s unlikely to do those analogue sticks any favours. Backbone has an official case that’ll keep it safe; the felt finish looks and feels suitably premium, while the sculpted interior will keep the Backbone Pro from rattling around. It’ll set you back an extra $25t on top of the cost of the controller itself, though.

Features & battery life: all the ways to play

All of the Backbone One’s features have been carried over to the Pro model, so you still get a USB-C passthrough port in the right grip to keep your handset topped up while you game, and a 3.5mm port in the left grip. That’s particularly handy if you’ve got an older wired gaming headset, now that phones with headphone connectors are rarer than a snowball in the Sahara.

This is also where you’ll find the new pairing button. Wireless play is almost as easy as plug-and-play with your phone: press and hold the button and the Backbone Pro will show up in your machine’s Bluetooth devices list. My Android tablet, gaming laptop and even my LG TV all recognised it as a controller right away, with all the standard inputs working as expected. To have one controller that can to all this, and also clamp around my phone when I want to play mobile games, is fantastic.

You could use a Backbone One on your PC or Mac through a tethered USB connection, but the setup process was convoluted. This is seamless, and doesn’t require any cables. I especially like how you can pair to multiple devices and then pick which one is active through the companion app, so you don’t need to go through the pairing process every time you swap.

The built-in battery is good for up to 40 hours of wireless play, which is multiple times more than I’ve ever managed in a single session. Because the passthrough USB-C port tops up the controller as well as any connected handset, I rarely needed ti plug it in specifically to charge – though you might find otherwise if you spend more time gaming on devices other than your smartphone.

This Backbone largely earns its Pro monicker, although it’s not rocking any sort of haptic motors. Unless your phone is delivering the vibration, you’ll forego any kind of force feedback here.

Software experience: it’ll cost ya

It has seen a bunch of updates since I last used it with the Backbone One PlayStation Edition, but the Backbone App feels largely familiar. It still launches automatically when you plop your phone between its two halves, and still acts as a launcher for all your App store or Play Store games, Cloud gaming services, and local streaming tools like Steamlink.

Per-game profiles, button customisation and firmware updates are all handled here too, and it’s where you’ll head for instant device switching. It’s also handy for game discovery, with a Netflix-style scrolling layout that can help uncover hidden gems you didn’t know were part of your Xbox Game Pass or Nvidia GeForce Now memberships.

There’s a lot more here, but only if you’re willing to break out the credit card. A Backbone+ subscription, which lets you capture 1080p60 video clips, voice chat with other members, and assign buttons to onscreen overlays for games that don’t support controllers, runs to $40 per year. iPhone owners also get beta access to an in-app emulator for retro titles, but Android owners currently miss out.

Sure, it’s slicker than having to bounce between multiple apps, but that’s a lot of money to pay for convenience – especially when rivals like Razer don’t charge for a similar setup.

Performance: size matters

Gaming with the Backbone Pro was comfortable and problem-free for the most part. Those full-size analogue sticks made my directional movements feel more precise and purposeful than they did on the Backbone One, in part because the concave shape provided a place to comfortably rest my thumbs.

The right analogue stick is perhaps a little too close to the face buttons – which themselves are still on the small side – so multiple simultaneous inputs could be a little tricky. But while the left and right bumpers are still a bit skinny, I had no trouble with missed inputs. The triggers are much improved, with more room to rest your index fingers and a good amount of pull resistance.

I’m not always a fan of extra rear buttons, as if they’re even a little bit of a stretch to reach I’ll largely not bother with them. That wasn’t an issue here; the M1 and M2 buttons fell naturally beneath my ring fingers.

Does it sit quite as confidently in your hands as a console gamepad? Not quite – but it gets damn close. The perfectly balanced weight between the two halves really helps, though having an especially top-heavy smartphone negates that a little. It’s also a shame Backbone didn’t go with Hall Effect analogue sticks; the firm used the long life tech for the triggers, but stuck with potentiometers (which don’t have the same shelf life) for the sticks. That’s not to say I had any issues with stick drift during my testing, but equally they won’t be immune from it years down the line.

Backbone Pro verdict

This the new gold standard for mobile controller connectivity. Adding Bluetooth has massively expanded the Backbone Pro’s potential, which is great news if you game across multiple devices and want one gamepad to rule them all. The larger analogue sticks and triggers make this a lot more comfortable than the Backbone One, too.

Without haptic vibration and Hall effect analogue sticks, the Backbone Pro isn’t quite as ‘pro’ as it could’ve been, though. The part-paywalled software suite is hardly what I’d call good value, and the cost of entry is pretty steep.

The Razer Kishi V3 Pro adds even more buttons for a little less cash if you only want a mobile controller – but if convenience across all your kit matters most, it’s the Backbone you should check out first.

Backbone Pro technical specifications