I’ve become a big fan of cloud gaming over the years, and I love controllers that convert my smartphone into a Switch-like gaming handheld. By placing the display in the center of the controller, everything feels more balanced and it makes it more enjoyable to enjoy games on your smartphone.
Along with gaming in the cloud, I also enjoy the freedom of playing games from the PS5 without being tied to the TV. That’s why I was so excited when we were sent the officially licensed Backbone One – PlayStation Edition for review. Many other mobile controllers aren’t natively compatible with the PS Remote Play app and either refuse to function or require finicky button mapping. Using an officially licensed controller provides the smoothest possible experience.
Key features:
- Lag-free USB Type-C connection
- Compatible with iPhone 15 and Android smartphones
- Pass-through charging and 3.5mm audio jack
- Supports cloud gaming services such as, Amazon Luna, GeForce Now, Steam Link, and Xbox Game Pass
- Native PS Remote Play support
- On-screen button mapping for games without support for controllers
- Works as a wired controller for iPad, Mac, or PC
Design
The Backbone One – PlayStation Edition doesn’t differ that much in design from many other mobile controllers you’ll find on the market. However, it still manages to set itself apart from the crowd. For starters, the officially licensed PlayStation Edition uses the traditional Sony layout with the triangle, circle, X, and square buttons.
This makes me feel right at home when using the PS Remote Play app, especially when beginning a new game when it asks you to press the square button and you don’t have to try to remember which one that is on the A, B, X, Y layout.
The analog sticks on the Backbone One – PlayStation Edition are a little short, but the movement is nice and smooth. The face buttons are clicky without much travel, be aware of that in case you prefer mushier buttons or you’re concerned about irritating others with the sound. The R1 and L1 buttons have a less audible click and are easy to press, while the L2 and R2 trigger buttons are silent and require a longer press. Finally, the D-pad is stiff but offers a lot of travel when pressed.
Another unique feature of the Backbone One controller are the magnetic inserts on either side meant to secure different sized smartphones while using a case. These are held in place with curiously strong magnets that made it difficult for me to remove them until I looked up the guide on how to pop them out. The default inserts were too large for the slim case on my phone and I found using the Backbone One – PlayStation Edition without them worked best for me. So, don’t be afraid to remove them entirely if you need to.
Similar to many other mobile controllers with a hardwired connection, the Backbone One provides a USB Type-C port for pass-through charging and a 3.5mm audio jack for wired headphones. Yet, the Backbone One has a unique trick up its sleeve that I’ve not seen from any other mobile controller using this telescoping design. The USB Type-C port can be used to connect it as a wired controller to other devices, such as an iPad, Mac, or PC.
That makes the Backbone One more than a one-trick pony that can only be used with your phone, and I love this feature. These controllers aren’t cheap and knowing that I can use it for multiple devices makes the Backbone One a better investment than others on the market.
I’ve reviewed a few of these expandable controllers over the years and the Backbone One – PlayStation Edition is, by far, the smoothest I’ve ever used. Each time I expanded it to insert or remove my phone I couldn’t help but be impressed by how fluid the motion was. It’s just another example of how Backbone has created one of the highest-quality controllers I’ve ever used.
Along with the controller, Backbone also sent us the PlayStation edition of the carrying case. This is a separate $25 purchase on top of the controller, and the design is just as premium as the controller. The outside shell is a soft-touch material with a marble texture, while the zipper sits inset to give a beautiful seamless appearance.
The case is molded perfectly to secure the controller on the inside and protects the buttons and analog sticks from getting damaged. It even leaves some space to toss in a small cable or the magnetic inserts. If you plan on taking the Backbone One on the go with you, then you’ll want to look at picking this up as well.
Software and experience
One area Backbone truly shines is with the design of its app. Using the Backbone app essentially transforms your phone into a gaming console. It gives you a list of compatible apps and presents it with all the eye candy you’re accustomed to with consoles, including fancy animations and automatic playing trailers. Combined with the controller, this is one of the most comprehensive packages I’ve ever seen.
Having the ability to browse games available on different platforms and launch them directly from the app makes it almost a seamless process once you’ve logged into all your different services. Although, it’s not entirely seamless, seeing how some apps take a few more clicks to get into the app.
Additionally, the Backbone app has built-in extras that allow you to record and edit gameplay videos, join chatrooms, add friends, live-stream to Twitch, and more all within its interface. The only downside is that many of the best features require a subscription. However, you don’t even have to use the app if you don’t want to, outside of checking for firmware updates. It works just as well by launching the PS Remote Play app, a specific game, or cloud service and using the controller from there.
Even though the Backbone One – PlayStation Edition is made specifically for PS Remote Play, there is one glaring omission, the touchpad. When playing games, you’ll need to tap the phone display to bring up the virtual touchpad, and that’s not quite as easy to reach when there’s a controller attached.
There’s also no PlayStation button on the controller, but long-pressing the Backbone button will bring you to the PS5’s home screen. Unfortunately, this shortcut didn’t work while using the Xbox Game Pass app and I was required to tap the screen to access controls to exit games.
I spent a little time playing with the video capture feature with the Backbone app and came away unimpressed. The audio lagged behind by five seconds making the videos unusable and it took forever to download videos from Backbone’s cloud service. On the bright side, the editing interface worked well with the controller.
TouchSync is Backbone’s feature that allows you to play games without gamepad support by mapping the physical controls to taps on the touchscreen. I was amazed by how well this worked because other solutions I’ve tried with competing brands always felt clunky, while Backbone’s TouchSync feature has the smoothest and most accurate button mapping I’ve ever used. While testing it out by playing Genshin Impact, I was able to play the game with the preset mapping so well that it almost felt like it was a natively supported game.
Usually, the biggest issue with these button mapping solutions is the response of the right joystick being so overly sensitive it’s useless, but not so with the Backbone One. Everything felt so smooth that exploring and fighting felt almost as natural as the console version. The only downside is that you’ll still need to tap the screen for menus and other items occasionally.
Final thoughts
I’ve tried my fair share of mobile controllers over the years, and the Backbone One – PlayStation Edition is the most premium feeling all-in-one package I’ve ever used. The only reason I’d hesitate to call it the best is because Backbone doesn’t use Hall effect sensors for the joysticks and there are no customizable buttons on the backside. Besides that, the Backbone One PlayStation Edition is such a cohesive high-quality controller that it feels next level when it’s paired together with the app.
The Backbone One – PlayStation Edition can be purchased from Backbone’s website or Amazon for $100.
