Backbone's latest gaming controller, the Pro, might make you do a double-take. At first glance, it echoes the design of their previous hit, the Backbone One – those familiar oblong grips connected by an expanding bridge to cradle your phone via USB-C. It's a touch heavier and feels a bit sturdier this time, but the core concept remains.
Here's the cool part: unlike the original, you don't need a phone dock to play. The Backbone Pro can also go wireless, connecting via Bluetooth to various gaming gadgets, from your Steam Deck to your iPad or even a smart TV. Backbone calls this "Wireless Mode," distinguishing it from the phone-docking "Handheld Mode." And according to CEO Maneet Khaira, there's more compatibility on the horizon.
Khaira was enthusiastic about the Pro, emphasising the significant effort that went into it despite its visual similarities to its predecessor. He described it as the controller Backbone has envisioned for years, boasting two proper thumbsticks, a D-pad, the standard A, B, X, Y buttons, plus shoulder and trigger buttons. It even packs a headphone jack, a USB-C port, and a hefty 40-hour battery life. Khaira mentioned the intricate internal design, with three circuit boards crammed into each side.
Backbone's app is key to the experience, aiming to be your central hub for all your games across all your devices. It's designed to remember your connected consoles, control layouts, and even your in-game progress. Backbone has even included an emulator for retro gaming within the app. The idea is seamless gaming: pause on one screen and pick up right where you left off on another without switching controllers.
The Pro plays nicely with many game-streaming services, major mobile platforms, and various consoles and devices. However, it's not a universal remote for the gaming world. It won't officially support PlayStation due to the differences in the buttons, whilst the Nintendo Switch is also a no-go, so we assume the Switch 2 will be the same.
These omissions are understandable, given the difficulty of creating a universal controller. Backbone might explore console-specific versions down the line, and while you can technically use it for PlayStation remote play, full, unified support is the ultimate goal, according to Khaira.
Khaira's underlying vision is bold: the controller should be the console. Before Backbone, he worked on gaming at Google, on a similar cross-platform, controller-focused project you might remember called Stadia (which, as you may know, didn't pan out).
The Backbone Pro is available now, costing £156 here in the UK.
- Here's five things to know about the Nintendo Switch 2 if you want more handheld gaming.
