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The mobile accountant companyBackboneunveiled itsBackbone Procontroller this calendar week , which bring iOS and Android gaming experiences to the next horizontal surface .
A successor to the Backbone One controller , the Pro features full - size joysticks , re - mappable buttons , and Bluetooth compatibility , making for a more premium gambling apparatus . Unlike its forerunner , the Backbone Pro does n’t need to be attached to a phone to put to work , meaning that you could use it as a wireless controller . That functionality gravel extra utile when using swarm play services like Xbox Game Pass . you may play a plot with the Backbone Pro controller on your television , then plug your earphone into the controller and instantly foot up where you leave off on mobile .
“ Our view is , gaming should be a lot more aboveboard , ” founding father Maneet Khaira told TechCrunch . ” It needs to be really simple and work more like AirPods when you connect to screens . ”
Backbone is betting adult on the growth of fluid gaming , which has only been accelerated by expanding cloud gambling option , but so far , Backbone seems to be cementing itself as the top hardware Almighty for roving gamers . It also helps that Backbone isteemingwithcelebrity investorslike Ashton Kutcher , The Weeknd , MrBeast , Post Malone , and Amy Schumer , as well as gaming insider like Discord founding father Jason Citron .
But as someone who does n’t use Xbox Game Pass or similar swarm subscription , I never quite understood the hype around using a smartphone as a gaming twist . I already have a Nintendo Switch , a machine specifically made for gaming , as opposed to my iPhone , which is design for a bazillion other things . So to test the Backbone Pro , I downloaded some plot on my sound that I already play on the Switch , solely for the intention of comparing the gameplay experience .
The verdict ? I have logged about 13 hour of gameplay on the iOS version of Stardew Valley over the last three days . I ’m not in full sell on fluid gambling — answering textbook while playing a secret plan is kind of annoying — but I have to say , I ’d much rather model on the lounge with the Backbone Pro than the Nintendo Switch , which prioritizes blind size of it over comfort .
The Backbone Pro smoothen in its ergonomics . Sometimes , when you pluck up a new iPhone , it feels familiar , yet slightly off , and it takes some fourth dimension to get used to the tone of the Modern equipment before the differences stop being obtrusive . This was the experience I had play theNintendo Switch 2 , as opposed to the original console .
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But the Backbone Pro ’s design feels so naturally intuitive that I did n’t even experience those few second of irritation . Seconds after plugging my phone into the controller ’s USB - 100 port wine for the first time , I could act Hades — a biz rife with chaotic push mashing — just as easy as I do on the Switch . I find out the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller uncomfortable for games like Hades , so that ’s saying something .
“ Meta , when they were project the Quest , they would do multiple iterations of a headset [ prototype ] in a workweek , because they could publish them and then speedily try out them , get feedback , and iterate , ” Khaira say . He consider inhalation from that proficiency when developing the Backbone Pro , adorn heavy in the same kind of technology .
Backbone 3-D - printed over 9,000 dissimilar part before landing on the model that in the end send , making microscopical pinch to every aspect of the controller before get in at something that make Joy - Cons feel like Fisher - cost miniature .
This stratum of precision and versatility number at a cost . The Backbone Pro retails for $ 169.99 , which is a snatch steep considering that you could purchase a renovate Nintendo Switch Lite for the same toll . But for serious players who need that cross - machine functionality , the Backbone Pro could be worth it .
If you ’re not prompt back and away between Xbox Game Pass on your TV and your headphone , you could probably be okay with the original Backbone One , which is $ 99.99 .
