The Spine One Telephone Controller Will get a PlayStation Facelift

The Backbone One: PlayStation Edition smartphone controller.

Picture: Spine

The Spine One controller is among the finest methods to unleash your smartphone’s gaming potential, and Spine as we speak revealed the third iteration of the gamepad (after the unique iPhone and Android variations), that includes a significant facelift that appears proper at dwelling alongside the PlayStation 5’s stark white DualSense controller.

These kinds of clamp-on smartphone controllers have been round for nearly so long as touchscreen smartphones have, however till just lately, they’ve been principally area of interest merchandise for enjoying the handful of cellular motion and racing video games which are really price enjoying, or as a method for followers of retro gaming to show their telephones into strong handheld emulation gadgets.

Then 5G and wifi enhancements helped make recreation streaming a viable factor a couple of years in the past, and abruptly the smartphone you’ve already obtained in your pocket could possibly be used used to play AAA titles from Microsoft and Sony that have been in any other case solely obtainable on highly effective consoles. Smartphone controllers grew to become vital accent, and whereas corporations like Razer have been iterating them for fairly a while, the Spine One roughly knocked it out of the park on its first time at bat—a lot in order that the just lately launched Razer Kishi V2 seems to be prefer it borrowed a couple of concepts from Spine.

The back of the Backbone One: PlayStation Edition smartphone controller showing the PlayStation logo.

Picture: Spine

There’s no debating whether or not or not the brand new Spine One: PlayStation Version took inspiration from Sony’s {hardware}, as a result of the parents at Spine really labored with the PlayStation crew to recreate the colours and end of the PS5 DualSense controller, proper all the way down to the clear face buttons.

The Backbone One: PlayStation Edition smartphone controller's buttons and joysticks.

Picture: Spine

Nevertheless, PlayStation followers will undoubtedly discover that the symmetrical analog joystick design that’s been a trademark of Sony online game controllers for years was not carried over to the Spine One: PlayStation Version. Based on Spine, because the controller is designed to be “used totally on cellular gadgets which have smaller kind components,” the asymmetrical joystick placement gives “a extra pure ergonomic place on smaller screens to allow them to play the video games they already love on PlayStation Distant Play with most consolation.”

Screenshots of the Backbone iOS app.

Screenshot: Spine

As with earlier variations, the Spine One: PlayStation Version controller works with the PS Distant Play app, but additionally any recreation or recreation streaming service that helps controllers, together with Xbox recreation streaming. It’s not an adjunct that’s completely for PlayStation avid gamers, though the Spine app does supply a “personalized PlayStation expertise” with entry to its library of video games, and a brand new portrait mode permitting different content material within the Spine app to be extra simply accessed with out the controller connected.

The Spine One: PlayStation Version controller is obtainable beginning as we speak within the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Netherlands, and the UK for $100, with a wider launch afterward. Nevertheless, like the unique Spine One, this particular version model will solely be obtainable for iPhones and iOS.