The Backbone One Smartphone Controller Is Getting a Sleek PlayStation Facelift

The Backbone One controller is likely one of the greatest methods to unleash your smartphone’s gaming potential, and Backbone right this moment revealed the third iteration of the gamepad (after the unique iPhone and Android variations), that includes a serious facelift that appears proper at house alongside the PlayStation 5’s stark white DualSense controller.

These varieties of clamp-on smartphone controllers have been round for nearly so long as touchscreen smartphones have, however till lately, they’ve been largely area of interest merchandise for enjoying the handful of cell motion and racing video games which can be really value taking part in, or as a manner for followers of retro gaming to show their telephones into strong handheld emulation units.

Then 5G and wifi enhancements helped make sport streaming a viable factor a couple of years in the past, and instantly the smartphone you’ve already obtained in your pocket could possibly be used used to play AAA titles from Microsoft and Sony that had been in any other case solely accessible on highly effective consoles. Smartphone controllers grew to become vital accent, and whereas corporations like Razer have been iterating them for fairly a while, the Backbone One more or less knocked it out of the park on its first time at bat—a lot in order that the lately launched Razer Kishi V2 appears to be like prefer it borrowed a couple of concepts from Backbone.

There’s no debating whether or not or not the brand new Backbone One: PlayStation Edition took inspiration from Sony’s {hardware}, as a result of the parents at Backbone really labored with the PlayStation workforce to recreate the colours and end of the PS5 DualSense controller, proper right down to the clear face buttons.

However, PlayStation followers will undoubtedly discover that the symmetrical analog joystick design that’s been an indicator of Sony online game controllers for years was not carried over to the Backbone One: PlayStation Edition. According to Backbone, for the reason that controller is designed to be “used primarily on mobile devices which have smaller form factors,” the asymmetrical joystick placement offers “a more natural ergonomic position on smaller screens so they can play the games they already love on PlayStation Remote Play with maximum comfort.”

As with earlier variations, the Backbone One: PlayStation Edition controller works with the PS Remote Play app, but additionally any sport or sport streaming service that helps controllers, together with Xbox sport streaming. It’s not an adjunct that’s completely for PlayStation players, though the Backbone app does supply a “customized PlayStation experience” with entry to its library of video games, and a brand new portrait mode permitting different content material within the Backbone app to be extra simply accessed with out the controller connected.

The Backbone One: PlayStation Edition controller is obtainable beginning right this moment within the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Netherlands, and the UK for $100, with a wider launch afterward. However, like the unique Backbone One, this particular version model will solely be accessible for iPhones and iOS.