The Backbone Pro Launches For Android With A Whopping $169.99 Price Tag

After the recent launch of the Xbox Edition controller, Backbone is, well, back with the Backbone Pro. This USB-C gamepad is designed for mobile use and includes a few more high-end additions.

The key here is flexibility. The Pro offers two ways to connect: plug it directly into your phone or tablet via USB-C for that zero-latency, never-needs-charging handheld experience, or go wireless with Bluetooth for gaming on bigger screens like laptops, VR headsets (Meta Quest, Apple Vision Pro), and even smart TVs with Samsung Gaming Hub. The company is highlighting the new FlowState Technology within the Backbone app quite heavily with this release. It remembers your paired devices, so switching between them should be a tap-and-go affair.

The Backbone Pro features full-size joysticks and remappable back buttons. Its form factor is designed to accommodate these features while maintaining a compact size. The design process involved over 9,000 part iterations and more than 30 user research studies, which included the use of a proprietary 3D camera system to analyze hand movements during gameplay.

According to the company, Backbone sought the input from professional players and industry veterans during testing and refining the product before its launch. This should ensure something comfortable and playable for all genres and titles. It’s fully usable when paired/connected with your phone or wirelessly thanks to Bluetooth connectivity.

Customization seems to be a big selling point for the Backbone Pro too. You can remap every single button and save different control profiles for different games and the various platforms you might be playing on. A key component is the the Backbone app, which acts as this central gaming hub, pulling all your games into one place.

The updated application supports your usual app store titles (including Apple Arcade and Netflix games), remote play (Xbox Remote Play, Steam Link), cloud gaming (Nvidia GeForce NOW), and even retro games through an integrated emulator. You can bring your ROMs over, and provided they are playable, you will be able to enjoy classic titles all from one dashboard. It’s not clear what platforms are compatible, but we have reached out to Backbone for clarification on this.

They’re even throwing in a new Smart Search feature to find and launch games across all these platforms from one spot. If you’re a Backbone+ subscriber, you’ll also get a rotating library of free games and some extra bells and whistles for the Pro controller.

The Backbone Pro is going on sale soon at Backbone.com but has a rather lavish asking price of $169.99. It joins their existing Backbone One controller but provides added comfort controls and a larger profile to take advantage of even more of your favorite titles.