The mobile gaming revolution might be old hat by now, with countless successful apps and games that come to mind, but we are in the midst of a new wave in the form of remote play and game streaming. Playing a full console release on your phone is entirely possible now, so long as you have a good internet connection, but doing so with touch controls almost always inhibits things.

The Backbone One is a leading example of how to get around that problem without needing a full controller to hand - it clamps around your phone to offer all the same benefits, forming a mini portable console of sorts. We've tested the iPhone version, but capable Android options are also there, to suit all users.

Backbone One for iPhone review: The best iPhone controller option? photo 11
Backbone One

This is a great way to get the controller experience on your phone without needing to stand the handset up against something, so it's ideal for commutes or journeys.

Pros
  • Feels good to use
  • Easy to attach to multiple phone sizes
  • Good compatibility
  • Android or iPhone version available
Cons
  • Backbone button questionable
  • Won't work with cases

Review update: Backbone One PlayStation Edition

  • New version tuned for PS Remote Play
  • White design
  • iPhone and Android versions too

We've got our hands on Backbone's newest version of its controller, which is very much just the Backbone One again, this time aimed squarely at PS Remote Play from the PlayStation 5 or PS4. It works just as seamlessly as the standard Backbone One does, with an easier time remembering which buttons to press.

The design is great, obviously bringing to mind the PS5's sharp white colour scheme, and in every other way we're just as impressed by the sturdiness of Backbone's controller grip.

Backbone One for iPhone review: The best iPhone controller option? photo 10
Pocket-lint

In every way that counts, it's still a great controller that now has an excellent option for PlayStation gamers, too, one that looks a little cleaner and more unique.

Design

  • Available for both iPhone and Android phones
  • Compatible with wide range of phones
  • Weighs 138g

The Backbone One looks nice and sleek whether it's wrapped around your phone or not. This isn't the smallest controller grip on the market for a phone, but it is one of the nicest feeling to use. The ergonomics are fairly restrained, without a huge amount of shaping, but there are enough curves and soft edges to make sure that it's nice to hold.

Backbone One for iPhone review: The best iPhone controller option? photo 2

The analogue sticks are similar to those used by Nintendo's Joy-Cons on the Switch, which means in practice they don't have huge amounts of travel, so you will find that you lack some of the precision of a full-scale pad.

That's mirrored by the triggers, which are solid enough, but pale in comparison to the likes of the DualSense or Xbox Wireless Controller - that's not really a criticism here, though, given the different aims of the Backbone One.

If you're concerned by getting the best possible competitive advantage from your controller, you're probably not looking for a mobile grip in the first place. For playing games on the go and with a form-factor small enough to slip into basically any bag, this is a really well-designed package.

Backbone One for iPhone review: The best iPhone controller option? photo 5
Pocket-lint

In addition to the usual sticks and buttons there's a couple of menu buttons, too, one to each side, alongside two additional feature buttons - one is for taking captures and screenshots while you game, the other quickly opens Backbone's own app.

While the button setup is handy, we didn't find the Backbone button very useful and occasionally activated it by accident. What would have been miles more useful would've been a generic home button to take the place of a Sony DualSense's PlayStation button or the Xbox button on those respective controllers, which are both useful for streaming games.

The Backbone also hosts a 3.5mm connection for audio, although using your phone's Bluetooth is miles easier in most cases, while there's a Lightning port for both pass-through charging and the option to connect to something like an iPad by a wired connection.

Backbone One for iPhone review: The best iPhone controller option? photo 9
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The telescoping back of the Backbone's grip makes it easily accommodate different sizes of phone. If, like us, you're using the iPhone 13 Pro, you'll be able to use the free adapter that comes in the box to make sure it fits nicely around the phone's massive camera bump. It doesn't cause any flexing or an awkward fit, so we're impressed by this workaround.

The one downside is that if you use a case on your phone then it almost certainly won't slot into the Backbone One, so you will have to accept taking your case off to use the controller, before then putting it back on after.

Features

  • Game capture button
  • Backbone hub
  • Pass-through charging

Plugging your phone into the Backbone One will lead to a fairly immediate detection of the controller, letting games that support its input use it as the primary method - something that generally works nice and smoothly.

Backbone One for iPhone review: The best iPhone controller option? photo 6
Pocket-lint

We've occasionally found that streaming using Xbox's browser-based workaround on iOS required us to unplug the controller and try again to make sure it was detected, though, but this rarely takes more than a couple of seconds and never persisted.

The controller works great not only in native games and apps, but perfectly with Xbox Game Pass' streaming system (and you can get a free trial of the service with the Backbone One to try it out), and we also had a great time using it for Remote Play on our PS5.

That's basically all you can ask from it in terms of compatibility, and it really does open up more ways of playing your games without hogging the TV or needing to be in front of it.

Backbone One for iPhone review: The best iPhone controller option? photo 4
Pocket-lint

Backbone's own app aims to be a hub for your mobile gaming using the controller, letting you launch games from services like Game Pass and Google Stadia without needing to find the relevant app first.

That said, we typically knew what game we wanted to play and cut out the middle man by going directly to the relevant app or page, so we're not certain this Backbone button brings all that much value to the table - hence why we'd probably lose this button from the controller.

Verdict

If you're looking for a mobile controller to game with, and you've been struggling because of the paucity of options that work with iPhone and are reliably well-made, the Backbone One definitely offers a neat solution.

It has a nice feel, works with all the biggest services to ensure that you don't find yourself with a controller you can't actually use,and fits a huge range of iPhone and Android phones (although one Backbone won't do both types of phone).