Backbone Pro Review
When it launched in 2020, the Backbone One made a giant splash within the cellular gaming scene. It provided a near-perfect strategy to expertise cellular video games, due to its compact, moveable design, direct connection, and a very good companion app that tied all the pieces collectively. Since then, the cellular gaming panorama has advanced considerably – sport streaming is more reliable, smartphones are more powerful, and up to date video games like Assassin’s Creed Mirage can now be played natively, with no console required.
Spine’s newest launch, the aptly named Spine Professional, upgrades the unique with customizable again buttons, full-size analog sticks, and Bluetooth connectivity. Whereas it isn’t designed to exchange the Spine One, the Professional is a premium phone controller for gamers who need to sport throughout a number of screens or are on the lookout for a higher-end cellular gaming expertise.
Spine Professional – Design and Options
The Spine Professional retains a lot of the design language from the Spine One – from the distinctive trapezoidal form to the button structure and extendable central space – however introduces a number of upgrades that ship a extra premium gaming expertise. The very first thing you’ll discover is the bigger grips. Whereas they practically double the peak of the Spine Professional when in comparison with the unique, they considerably enhance consolation and ergonomics, particularly throughout longer play classes. A refined micro-texture on the grips enhances the texture and helps stop slippage, making the controller each purposeful and nice to carry.
However, there is a extra essential cause for the bigger grips past improved ergonomics; the Spine Professional now helps Bluetooth, permitting it to hook up with a variety of units past simply smartphones. This improve requires extra refined internals and twin built-in rechargeable batteries, which ship as much as 40 hours of playtime. The batteries add some heft with out making the system really feel heavy, as an alternative creating a nice steadiness that feels nice in hand.
The Spine Professional helps two distinct modes: Handheld Mode, which makes use of a direct USB-C connection for near-zero latency gaming when your telephone is docked, and Wi-fi Mode, which permits Bluetooth connectivity with units like tablets (together with iPads), laptops (PC and Mac), VR headsets (equivalent to Meta Quest and Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional), and even choose good TVs with cloud gaming help.
A brand new function referred to as FlowState delivers a seamless connectivity expertise paying homage to AirPods, letting you turn between units with a single faucet. By permitting simultaneous connections to a number of units, it eliminates the standard Bluetooth re-pairing trouble when leaping between screens. Like AirPods, the Spine Professional additionally receives firmware updates routinely within the background, preserving the system present with out interrupting gameplay.
As with many “Professional” units in the present day, the Spine Professional contains two customizable rear buttons to reinforce your gameplay. Positioned comfortably on the internal grips the place your fingers naturally relaxation, they’re simple to succeed in with out straining. Whereas Spine deliberately designed them to keep away from unintended presses, I nonetheless skilled a number of unintended activations whereas testing. That being mentioned, they’re each comfy to make use of and easy to assign, including a layer of flexibility for gamers who need deeper management.
One other main improve within the Spine Professional is the inclusion of full-size thumbsticks. Their bigger dimension delivers a extra console-like really feel, with a concave form and textured edges that improve grip and precision. Whereas they don’t use Corridor impact sensors, which can disappoint some customers, they’re nonetheless snappy, responsive, and satisfying to make use of.
The rear triggers have been upgraded with Corridor impact sensors for better accuracy and reliability. They provide buttery easy actuation and have a laser-etched texture that helps preserve your fingers securely in place.
The face buttons and D-pad have additionally acquired a refined improve, now that includes a premium translucent end. They really feel extra responsive than earlier than and are noticeably quieter to press. Rounding out the {hardware}, the Spine Professional features a 3.5mm headphone jack and a Bluetooth pairing button on the underside left grip.
Whereas the earlier Spine One featured a passthrough charging port, the Professional expands on this function with the introduction of Parallel Charging. This enables the system to intelligently prime off its inside battery whereas your telephone expenses by way of the USB-C passthrough. The result’s much less trouble with charging and extra time leaping into video games, it doesn’t matter what display you are utilizing.
Regardless of all of the superior tech packed into the Spine Professional, it nonetheless weighs in at just below 200 grams, making it one of many lightest “Professional” controllers available on the market. Have in mind, that’s simply the controller alone. As soon as your telephone is docked, the entire weight can range. Nonetheless, in Wi-fi Mode, the controller maintains a balanced, comfy really feel within the hand.
The Spine Professional is suitable with USB-C smartphones, together with the iPhone 15 and newer, in addition to most Android smartphones. It comes with two upgraded, interchangeable magnetic adapters that allow you to use it with or with no telephone case. Just like the Spine One, it doesn’t embrace built-in rumble, however it does reap the benefits of the iPhone’s haptic suggestions to simulate vibrations in supported video games.
Spine Professional – Software program
Just like the {hardware} itself, the Spine app has seen quite a lot of updates since my final evaluation. It nonetheless serves as a central hub for all of your video games and companies, however now leans extra closely into discovery and getting you into your subsequent sport as rapidly as attainable.
Inside the app, you may play native video games from the App Retailer, Apple Arcade, Google Play, Google Play Go, and Netflix Video games, or stream from companies like Xbox Sport Go, PlayStation Distant Play, Steam, Nvidia GeForce Now, and Amazon Luna.
Including video games is so simple as urgent the Spine button when you’re in-game. This routinely provides the sport to your launcher so all the pieces stays in a single place. Whereas this works more often than not, I nonetheless bumped into a number of video games that refused to be added. It’s not a dealbreaker since you may at all times launch them manually out of your telephone’s house display, however it places a slight damper on what’s in any other case a seamless expertise.
Should you’re utilizing the Spine Professional, you may take issues even additional with customization. Remap any button, regulate thumbstick lifeless zones, fine-tune set off sensitivity, and save distinctive profiles for particular person video games that may be swapped with a faucet.
Spine+ can be receiving updates alongside the Professional’s launch. For these unfamiliar, Spine+ is a subscription service that gives reductions on {hardware} and equipment, greater than $35 value of in-game rewards, and unlocks further app options like 1080p/60fps sport seize with cloud storage, Twitch streaming from inside the app, and extra.
One new addition is the Spine Emulator, which helps retro gaming by integrating fashionable emulator cores like NES, SNES, Sport Boy, and GBA instantly into the app, with extra cores deliberate for future updates. Spine+ members can even quickly achieve entry to a rotating library of free video games for each Spine One and Spine Professional.
Spine Professional – Gaming
Spine Professional makes significant upgrades over the unique Spine One in practically each approach, and it’s obvious when utilizing it throughout a variety of video games. Whether or not I used to be bouncing between shooters like Name of Responsibility: Black Ops 6 or dabbling in some Katamari Damacy Rolling LIVE, the Spine Professional by no means skipped a beat.
The total-size thumbsticks really feel considerably higher to make use of and are on par with these of the PS5 DualSense or Xbox Wi-fi Controller. The identical goes for the upgraded triggers, that are satisfyingly clicky and extremely responsive. I used to be already a fan of the D-pad on the Spine One, however this model in some way feels even higher. It’s practically silent and silky easy, making it simple to slip between inputs with precision.
It took some getting used to utilizing the Spine Professional as a standalone controller since my palms are farther aside than traditional, however the ergonomic design and well-balanced weight assist it really feel pure, even throughout lengthy gaming classes.
Whereas I spent a great chunk of time in Handheld Mode, I used to be pleasantly shocked by how effectively the Spine Professional labored with the Meta Quest 2 when streaming Xbox Sport Go video games. Regardless of the potential for latency between cloud streaming and Bluetooth enter, there was nearly no enter lag, even in fast-paced shooters like Name of Responsibility or Fortnite.
An fascinating celebration trick that I managed to tug off with the Spine Professional was the flexibility to considerably “handoff” video games between units. For instance, I booted up a sport on Xbox Sport Go within the Meta Quest 2 in Wi-fi Mode, paused it mid-game, docked my telephone and swapped over to Handheld Mode and was capable of fireplace the sport up within the Spine app, unpause, and choose up precisely the place I left off. Whereas this actually gained’t work with each sport, it was a cool glimpse at what’s attainable as cloud gaming continues to evolve.
Regardless that the Spine Professional must be recharged in Wi-fi Mode, battery life was by no means a difficulty throughout testing. Parallel Charging whereas in Handheld Mode saved it topped up because it charged my telephone, and except you are utilizing it completely as a standalone controller, you’ll not often want to fret about battery in any respect.
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