I’ve been using a raft of the best iPhones since I first bought an iPhone 3GS many moons ago, and in all that time I’ve accumulated a bunch of fantastic gadgets and accessories that make using my Apple phone even easier.
Yet among the scores of iPhone accessories that I’ve used over the years, five stand out. Whether they’re helping me look my best on work calls or saving my skin on long road trips, they’ve all carved out a place in my daily life.
Here are five of the best iPhone accessories that I couldn’t live without.
ESR HaloLock MagSafe Car Charger Mount with CryoBoost
I’m a regular driver, and I frequently mount my iPhone to my dashboard and use Apple Maps to get me from A to B.
Whenever the weather warmed up, though, I would run into trouble. You see, with the sun beating down and the windshield acting like a giant magnifying glass, my iPhone would rapidly start to overheat.
Not only would this kill the battery life, but my phone would often shut down due to the excessive warmth. When you’re driving in unfamiliar territory, that’s a problem.
Fortunately, I found the solution in the form of ESR’s HaloLock MagSafe Car Charger Mount with CryoBoost. This isn’t just any old phone holder – it comes with a built-in fan that keeps my iPhone icy cold, even on the warmest days.
The fan is whisper-quiet, so I can’t hear it over the sound of my engine, and the mount surface even includes a magnetic wireless charger that keeps my phone juiced up. That’s put an end to my iPhone overheating woes and keeps me on the right track whenever I’m out on the road.
Belkin iPhone Mount with MagSafe for Mac Desktops and Displays
I’ve tried plenty of the best webcams over the years, but even the top-notch ones have never quite hit the spot. So when Apple announced Continuity Camera – a feature that lets you use your iPhone as a makeshift webcam – I was intrigued. After all, iPhone cameras are absolutely superb these days, so surely they’d be better than a bog-standard webcam?
The good news is that they are. But I needed to find some way to reliably hold my iPhone in place on top of my monitor – and that’s where the wordily named Belkin iPhone Mount with MagSafe for Mac Desktops and Displays comes in.
This is a simple little stand that sits on top of my screen and magnetically holds my iPhone in place, letting me enjoy Continuity Camera without worrying about my phone crashing to the ground.
There’s a version for Mac laptops, too, and both are far cheaper than buying a new webcam. After all, they simply let me use the incredible cameras I already have on my iPhone.
Apple AirTag
I have a bad habit of misplacing important items, forgetting where I’ve put them down on more occasions than I care to admit (or can remember). For things like my iPhone and my iPad, Apple’s built-in Find My detection helps me track them down. But what about for analogue items such as my house keys?
To help me out, I’ve attached an AirTag to my keys, which lets me know where they are any time I need to find them. I’ve housed the AirTag inside a Mous leather case that completely covers it – knowing how clumsy I am, the more protection there is, the better.
The AirTag also comes in handy when I travel: I just slip it inside my suitcase and I have an easy way to find my luggage. I’ve never had to track it down so far, but I know that if my bag ever does get lost, I'll be able to retrieve it a whole lot quicker thanks to the AirTag secreted inside.
GameSir Tarantula Pro
I love gaming, but I’ve never taken it too seriously on my iPhone, mostly because I find on-screen control schemes to be too fiddly and unreliable. It’s just not enjoyable to find myself struggling more with the controls than the game itself.
The GameSir Tarantula Pro controller fixes that. Connecting one of these to my iPhone eliminates almost all of the trouble I have with on-screen controls, making it far easier to work my way around games. In so many titles, the difference is absolutely night and day.
But it’s not just any old controller, as it’s got a bunch of excellent perks that come with it too.
For starters, it’s full of customizable options, from the trigger modes to the button layouts (there’s even a neat analogue mechanism that rotates the ABXY buttons).
It also feels rock solid and super-comfortable in the hand, and its TMR-enabled thumb sticks should last even longer than the Hall Effect alternatives that have become popular in recent years. Its bundled wireless charging stand, meanwhile, and affordable price are the icing on the cake.
Nomad Universal Cable for Apple Watch
Whenever I travel, I have to take two separate chargers, one each for my iPhone and my Apple Watch. It’s more weight, more space taken up, and more clutter on the side table when I get to the destination.
The Nomad Universal Cable for Apple Watch solves this problem in the most elegant way, cleverly combining a USB-C cable with an Apple Watch charging puck, so that one cable can power up both devices. It’s a small change, but one that makes packing just that little bit easier.
Unlike the other items in this article, I haven’t used the Nomad cable for long. But I can already tell that it’s going to quickly become an important part of my tech life, streamlining the process of charging my devices and keeping things just that little bit tidier at the same time. That’s a win in my book.
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