Backbone Pro Controller: The Latest Candidate in the Handheld Gaming Renaissance of 2025

With a price that’s literally 1/3rd of the Switch 2, the Backbone Pro promises quality handheld gaming via your smartphone. It makes sense for a bunch of reasons. Most new smartphones have great chipsets (the latest iPhones have higher RAM to deal with Apple Intelligence), are equipped with phenomenal screens, and have a slew of games that could put any handheld to shame.

Announced just today, the Backbone Pro is the company’s latest iteration of its smartphone-based handheld controller. It promises precision, comfort, and unmatched flexibility thanks to a few incredibly crucial improvements, like the controller’s built-in battery, its remappable buttons, and the fact that it can now connect to devices via Bluetooth instead of only relying on USB-C. In this renaissance of handheld gaming, ushered in by the Switch 2, along with rumors of an Xbox handheld device,

Designer: Backbone

The original Backbone One was cute. Clever, even. It democratized mobile gaming with that satisfying snap-on design and a shockingly competent layout. But it still felt like a sidekick. Backbone Pro doesn’t do sidekick energy. First thing to go? Those dinky joysticks. The Pro uses full-size ALPS thumbsticks, the same kind you’d find on a PS5 DualSense or Xbox Elite controller. No wobble, no mush, just real precision, with smooth rotation and clicky actuation that actually registers those tiny aiming adjustments in Apex Legends Mobile.

Start with those full-size ALPS joysticks. They’re lifted from the premium controller class—responsive, tactile, with resistance that doesn’t feel mushy or cheap. The kind of input hardware that makes you want to line up headshots in Apex Legends Mobile just for the thrill of the movement. Then there’s the ergonomics: sculpted grips, slightly angled handles, and enough surface real estate to avoid the dreaded finger pretzel during long sessions.

The Backbone Pro is still a direct USB-C plug-and-play solution for zero-latency handheld gaming, but now it supports Bluetooth with up to 40 hours of battery life, which isn’t just long – it’s downright smug in a world where DualSense controllers beg for juice after 6-8 hours. That changes everything. It’s no longer married to your phone. Hook it up wirelessly to your iPad, your Mac, your Samsung Smart TV running Xbox Cloud, or even a gaming laptop for couch co-op Rocket League.

Pairing fatigue? Not an issue here. Backbone’s FlowState tech makes jumping between devices stupidly simple—like, Xbox-quick resume simple. You flip from phone to tablet without futzing around in Bluetooth menus. It’s so seamless it feels like cheating.

Where Backbone One felt like an accessory to the phone, the Pro feels like the phone now revolves around it. Backbone’s redesigned app reinforces that shift. It pulls everything – Xbox Cloud Gaming, Steam Link, Apple Arcade, even your sketchy-but-beloved SNES ROMs – into one launcher. You can remap buttons, save profiles per game, and even dip into a rotating library of free titles if you spring for the Backbone+ subscription. Think of it as Steam Big Picture Mode for mobile, except actually usable and not stuck in 2013.

With the Switch 2 still on the horizon, the Backbone Pro feels like a Nintendo Switch for people who like options, an Xbox Elite controller that doesn’t need a console to flex, and a retro emulator rig for people who don’t want to travel with ten dongles. No Joy-Con drift, no clamshell compromise, no dock dependency. Even the build quality leans console-grade. The buttons have a crisp, mechanical snap. Triggers are linear and smooth, not clicky or stiff. The D-pad is tight enough for platformers, but not so rigid you’ll dread quarter-circle inputs in Street Fighter.

At $169, this thing dares you to compare it to a real console. And honestly? It’s not a bad challenge. You’re not buying this to kill five minutes in line at the DMV. You’re buying this because Call of Duty Mobile hits different at 60fps with zero input lag and tactile controls. Because Apple’s probably going to have to let Fortnite back in the App Store after its disastrous court toll. Because you want to ditch your living room setup without feeling like you’ve downgraded.