A pocket-sized snap-on controller that turns an iPhone into a full gaming handheld, pairing console-grade hardware with a companion app for cloud gaming and capture.
Backbone One is a telescoping attachable controller (~$100) for iPhone and Android that adds physical thumbsticks, triggers, and a headphone jack, turning a phone into a portable console. It solves the problem that touchscreen controls are imprecise and that phone gaming lacked a comfortable, console-quality input device. The companion Backbone app unifies game libraries, launch shortcuts, gameplay capture, and cloud gaming portals (Xbox Cloud Gaming, GeForce Now, PlayStation Remote Play, Apple Arcade, Steam Link). Versions include USB-C and Lightning models plus officially licensed PlayStation and Xbox editions and a 2025 Backbone Pro with Bluetooth. It is sold direct and at Best Buy, Amazon, Target, GameStop, and Verizon, and competes with Razer's Kishi by winning on ergonomics, build quality, and its software layer.
Maneet Khaira founded Backbone in 2018 during his senior year at Columbia while working at Google, starting essentially as a solo founder with early backing from Ludlow Ventures and later Ashton Kutcher's Sound Ventures. The small core team spent 2018-2019 developing the hinge mechanism and design with PA Consulting, moving to production in summer 2019, and hired hardware veterans from Apple, Google, and Meta. Backbone One launched October 27, 2020 via limited drops and earned rave reviews from TechCrunch, The Verge, and TechRadar. The breakthrough came in June 2021 when Microsoft bundled Backbone One with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for xCloud streaming, followed by a PlayStation Edition collaboration with Sony's design team in 2022. A $40M Series A led by Index Ventures closed in February 2022, with creators like MrBeast and The Weeknd investing. The controller won a Red Dot Design Award in 2022, entered national retail in 2023, was featured by Apple in the iPhone 16 keynote in 2024, and Backbone One is now described as the best-selling mobile game controller for iPhone.
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