Backbone One — PlayStation Edition costs $100 and it’s available now
Sony has partnered with Backbone to create an official PlayStation mobile controller for iPhone users, and if you’re a fan of the PS5’s DualSense, you might dig the aesthetic. Like similar products on the market, Backbone One — PlayStation Edition will fit around your phone for on-the-go gaming. It’s out now for $100 directly through Backbone.
PlayStation doesn’t exactly have a major mobile presence — at least not yet.
In a PlayStation Blog post about the controller, Backbone CEO Maneet Khaira leaned into the Remote Play appeal, which is a way to play PS4 and PS5 games on a phone via Wi-Fi or mobile data. Some players swear by Remote Play (especially when using the tech in-home), and others can’t really be bothered with streamed games, period.
That said, “Backbone One also works wonderfully with App Store games and other game streaming services that support controllers, including Genshin Impact, Fantasian, Call of Duty: Mobile, and more.” So if you’re a big mobile gamer in general, you’ve got options.
Would I feel weird using this for Xbox Cloud Gaming? Maybe. But I’d do it.
Backbone One — PlayStation Edition weighs 4.87 ounces. It’s got a 3.5mm headphone jack, pass-through charging, and draws “minimal power” directly from your iPhone, meaning it doesn’t need to be separately charged before you start playing.
I can see why Sony would want this kind of product out there, but its appeal seems limited right now unless you’re already in the market for this sort of thing and you happen to prefer this PlayStation-branded design. Maybe in the future, with a wider focus on cloud gaming tied into mobile devices, it’ll make more sense. Sony is behind Microsoft on that front, especially when we’re talking about Xbox’s newly-added touch controls.
Worth noting: the original black Backbone controller is also $100, and there’s an Android model. Backbone One — PlayStation Edition, meanwhile, is an iPhone exclusive.
