The Backone One is getting a new look.
This morning, Backbone (the company behind the Backbone One, a really-dang-good controller accessory for the iPhone) debuted a new variant of its device: Backbone One PlayStation Edition.
The idea behind the Backbone, for the unfamiliar: Take the Backbone, slide your iPhone (or, soon, Android device) into its expanding grip and bam — proper on-the-go gaming, buttons and all. Check out Matthew Panzarino’s review of the Backbone One here.
Internally, this PlayStation edition is largely the same as the original Backbone One — its got the same switches, triggers, layout, etc. Externally, though, its been redesigned (in collaboration with the PlayStation design team) to look just right alongside a PS5 or official DualSense controller.
Heres what else there is to know:
- The company will sell both devices; the original Backbone One isn’t going away.
- This version of the controller identifies itself as a PlayStation controller to the operating system, allowing compatible mobile games to use the proper PlayStation glyphs (Triangle, Circle, etc.) instead of ABXY in its menus/tutorials/etc.
- As with the original Backbone One, it’ll cost $100.
- It’ll start shipping today.
While it’d be easy to write this one off as “Oh, it’s the Backbone One but white,” it’s a pretty big stamp of approval for a relatively young startup like Backbone to get to release a PlayStation edition anything, all the way down to the PS logo hidden on the expanding back.