#PLAYBACKBONE REVIEW TRIAL#

The orange button launches Backbone’s own game portal (part of the BackBone iOS app), while others offer screen and video sharing shortcuts or what you’d expect when pressing start or menu on console controllers. There are a handful of buttons in addition to the stable gaming ones.

Using the touchpad will mean reaching for a section of the iPhone screen, while you’re not going to get any haptic feedback from the triggers or controller itself. The button layout does lean more towards Xbox gamers, but my PlayStation muscle memory meant I didn’t have too many issues using the One to play my PS5 remotely – just the usual drawbacks of playing with a controller that isn’t a DualSense, with its unique tricks and features. It said so on the box, it says it in the app, and it’ll say it in an email if you register the controller.

#PLAYBACKBONE REVIEW TRIAL#

The sticks feel a little looser than others I’ve used, but they’re accurate and comfortable.īackbone struck a deal with Microsoft, offering a one-month trial of Xbox’s Game Pass Ultimate for new Backbone owners.

The device has a subtle matte black finish, with two collar buttons on each side, a four-button layout on the right side (X, Y, A, B), a slightly-too-spongy d-pad on the left and an analog stick on each side. The company has wisely included a charger pass-through (gaming can burn through your battery) so you can keep your phone plugged in as you play. Backbone One, with its direct Lightning connection, sidesteps the extra jeopardy that comes with Bluetooth-connected controllers, which introduce another latency bump in the road.

So why invest in another controller for your phone when most mainstream console gamepads you probably already own already do the job? There are a few reasons.

Playbackbone review