Backbone has announced that going forwards its controllers will all use USB-C, doing away with its historical creation of separate editions of its gaming peripherals for Android and iOS devices. Going forward, Backbone will make one unit compatible with all phones.
Backbone was founded with the mission to bring console and PC-style gameplay to mobile, offering an attachable controller to phones not just for mobile games on-device, but for use with game streaming services.
The announcement comes in the wake of the announcement of Apple’s iPhone 15 Pro, which is transitioning from the Lightning port to USB-C for the first time.
Apple has long come under criticism for its choice of a bespoke charging and peripheral port, despite the proliferation of USB-C ports throughout the wider mobile market. As such, the new move not only brings the tech giant in line with EU regulation, but means that tech manufacturers no longer need to create separate products compatible with iPhones. It also brings the iPhone in line with Apple Macs and iPads, which already feature USB-C ports.
Growing some Backbone
At the reveal of the iPhone 15 Pro, Apple senior vice president Greg Joswiak called iPhone “the best mobile gaming platform in the world”, and the A17 Pro Chip means that those in the industry are already calling the latest phone the next big thing in mobile gaming, offering increased battery life and immersive gaming, with blockbuster titles like Resident Evil 4 being made available on the platform. Additionally Assassin’s Creed Mirage, the latest game in Ubisoft’s hit franchise, will run natively on the iPhone 15 Pro – in short, mobile players will receive the same experience on a smaller screen.
Mobile’s accessibility to consumers and developers alike has captured the attention of game makers throughout the industry, so it’s no secret that PlayStation and Xbox are both making concerted efforts to increase their profile on the platform – something Backbone has effectively capitalised on by turning the phone into not just a gaming device in its own right, but bringing the tactile experience of a controller to mobile and helping to bridge the gap between phones and other gaming platforms like never before.
Last year, Backbone founder Maneet Khaira was listed in Forbes’ annual 30 under 30 list.
