This week, the mobile controller manufacturer Backbone announced the Backbone Pro controller, which elevates gaming on iOS and Android.
With full-size joysticks, remappable buttons, and Bluetooth connectivity, the Pro controller—a replacement for the Backbone One controller—offers a more upscale gaming experience. The Backbone Pro can be used as a wireless controller because, unlike its predecessor, it does not require a phone to function. When using cloud gaming services like Xbox Game Pass, that functionality becomes even more helpful.
With the Backbone Pro controller, you can play a game on your TV and then start up where you left off on your phone by just connecting it to the controller.
Founder Maneet Khaira told TechCrunch, “We think gaming should be a lot more basic.””It must be really easy to use and function more like AirPods when connected to screens.”
Backbone is placing a large wager on the expansion of cloud gaming alternatives, which has only sped up the rise of mobile gaming. However, thus far, Backbone appears to be solidifying its position as the leading manufacturer of mobile gaming gear.It also helps that Backbone is brimming with gaming insiders like Jason Citron, the inventor of Discord, and celebrity investors like Ashton Kutcher, The Weeknd, MrBeast, Post Malone, and Amy Schumer.
However, I have never fully understood the buzz surrounding utilizing a smartphone as a gaming device because I do not use Xbox Game Pass or any other cloud subscriptions.
In contrast to my iPhone, which is meant for a plethora of other purposes, I already own a Nintendo Switch, a gadget made exclusively for gaming.I thus downloaded a few games that I already play on the Switch to my phone in order to test the Backbone Pro, just to compare the gameplay experiences.
The decision?Over the past three days, I have played Stardew Valley on iOS for roughly thirteen hours.Although I am not entirely sold on mobile gaming—answering texts while playing a game can be a pain in the assI must admit that I would much rather use the Backbone Pro while lounging on the couch than the Nintendo Switch, which puts screen size over comfort.
The ergonomics of the Backbone Pro are excellent.Picking up a new iPhone might occasionally feel familiar yet a little different, and it takes some time to become acclimated to the new device’s feel before the differences become inconspicuous. I got this experience when I played the Nintendo Switch 2 instead of the original system.
However, the Backbone Pro’s design is so intuitive that I did not even feel uncomfortable for a few minutes.I could play Hades, a game full of wild button mashing, as effortlessly as I do on the Switch just a few seconds after first connecting my phone to the controller’s USB-C port. That is saying something because I find the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller unpleasant when playing games like Hades.
Because they could print them, test them quickly, collect feedback, and iterate, Meta would create many headset prototypes in a week while designing the Quest, according to Khaira. When creating the Backbone Pro, he substantially invested in the same technology, drawing inspiration from that approach.
Before settling on the model that eventually arrived, Backbone 3Dprinted more than 9,000 distinct pieces, making minute adjustments to every aspect of the controller tocreate something that makes Joy-Cons feel like Fisher-Price toys.
There is a price for this degree of accuracy and adaptability.Given that you could purchase a refurbished Nintendo Switch Lite for the same amount of money, the Backbone Pro’s retail price of $169.99 seems a little high. However, the Backbone Pro might be worthwhile for dedicated gamers who require that cross-device capability.
You might be OK with the original Backbone One, which costs $99.99, if you are not switching between Xbox Game Pass on your phone and TV.
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