Backbone Pro - Phone Controller with Bluetooth for iPhone and Android

Our analysis

Unlike the Razer Kishi V3 Pro, the Backbone Pro keeps working with the phone out. Plugged into the USB-C port it is a phone controller; take the phone out and, per Backbone, it pairs over Bluetooth Low Energy with a tablet, a PC, a Mac or a TV, with up to 40 hours of battery by the company's own testing.

What stands out

• Handheld and wireless in one controller. On the phone when you are out, over Bluetooth for a bigger screen. The Kishi has no such mode; the GameSir G8 Plus also works away from the phone, with a Switch or a PC.
• Full-size joysticks and two back buttons. Backbone uses ALPS joysticks and lets you adjust stick and trigger sensitivity in its free app.
• A 3.5 mm jack. Wired headphones plug into the controller, and Bluetooth audio still goes through the phone.
• Adapters for cases. Magnetic adapters let it fit with or without a case, and Backbone keeps a list of cases it has checked.

Where it falls short

• The sticks are not described as magnetic. Backbone calls them ALPS joysticks and does not say Hall effect or TMR, the drift question we explain in our stick drift guide.
• A battery to keep charged if you use the wireless mode.
• No Lightning iPhones. Backbone says iPhone 14 and earlier are not compatible.

Look elsewhere if

You only play on the phone: the Kishi V3 Pro has nothing to charge, TMR sticks and two more remappable buttons. If your iPhone has a Lightning port, the G8 Plus connects over Bluetooth instead.

Backbone+ is optional: Backbone says the subscription is not required to play. We compare the three in our phone controller comparison, and wireless headsets for the same phone are in our wireless headset guide.