Even the perfect product can be improved with a thoughtful third-party accessory. That's not to say Apple's iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV or AirTag are perfect products, but they are great. Sometimes, however, they could use just a little something extra to make them work and fit into your specific circumstances even better. These products below are trying to do just that—to give Apple's products just a little bit more of an edge around how well they work for you.
Now, are these accessories necessary? Not by a long shot. In fact, if you don't experience the issues these products are solving, they might seem extremely superfluous—and maybe they are. Both of those things can be true at the same time. This list is a conundrum of sorts, full of beautifully designed and potentially useful accessories that also might not be worth it. As always, the prices listed may fluctuate over time as products go on sale.
- Nomad Leather Cover for MagSafe—$24.95
- Spigen AirPods Max Covers—$25.99
- Cyrill Shine AirTag Holder—$15.99
- Elevation Lab MagBase—$9.95
- Bellroy Pod Jacket—$39.99
- Grovemade Wood MagSafe Stand—$120
- Studio Neat Apple TV Remote Stand—$15
Nomad Leather Cover for MagSafe
The Apple MagSafe Charger is great for travel. It's small, so it can be tucked away in a pocket or tech pouch. The blessing and curse is that its metal exterior is strong and durable—but can be scratched itself or scratch up other gear in a pouch. Nomad has a $25 cover to address this problem or just add some flair to the magnet charger.
The Leather Cover for MagSafe slides on the back of Apple's charger and...that's it. It will provide a little bit of protection from or against the metal back. It will match Nomad's leather case to better blend in. It will add a bit of class or elegance to an otherwise sleek product. I've tried one in person, and it's really nice. It's also, frankly, hard to justify. I both love it and don't need it.
Buy at Nomad.
Spigen AirPods Max Covers
Money likely isn't an issue for AirPods Max owners. Apple's over-the-ear headphones retail for a whopping $550. And yet they do not come with a respectable case. There are plenty of third-party cases for traveling. That's not this Spigen accessory. There's another little, tiny issue that owners might have noticed. When you take the headphones off, the metal ear cups clink together. Will it ruin them or even scratch them? I haven't seen that with the test unit I used. But Spigen makes these silicone covers, which you can add to each side, to avoid that issue. I know at least one person is desperate for this type of accessory to address this annoyance. The only problem here is that it covers the color. So, unless your AirPods Max are black already, they will be black with these covers.
Buy at Amazon.
Cyrill Shine AirTag Holder
AirTag is a product that's impossible to lose as it's made to be tracked. The problem is that, by default, a case or holder will be a needed accessory for most people. So, it's hard to call the Shine from Cyrill unnecessary. In fact, it may be just the unassuming holder people are looking for. But a thin piece of plastic with the primary goal of providing a place for a loop to hook can also be a hard sell.
I've tried this product, and it works great. Just be sure to factor the cost of a case into the $29 price of an AirTag so you're not surprised by the total.
Buy at Amazon.
Elevation Lab MagBase
What if you like your MagSafe charger from Apple but are annoyed that you need two hands to detach it? MagBase is the solution. It's a small rubber piece that sticks to a desk and allows a phone to slide sideways so the MagSafe charger can detach with a single hand holding the phone. At first glance, this one may be easy to criticize, but there's always more than meets the eye with great products. First, and maybe most importantly, it also comes with a 3-foot extension for the MagSafe charger. The charger's attached cord is only 1 meter, so adding an extra 3 feet of usable length is a real nicety.
Second, the extension and small base together only cost $10. If this accessory will benefit your workflow, its low cost is as much of a feature as anything else it can do.
Buy at Elevation Lab.
Bellroy Pod Jacket
When I reviewed new tech cases from Bellroy, I mused that the Pod Jacket was a case for the AirPods Pro case: It protects the protection. And while a leather cover for your AirPods Pro might be a little unnecessary, there are benefits.
My first AirPods glossy white plastic case got scratched up. Then dirt got in the cracks, making it a little gross after a while. This Pod Jacket fixes that. It also adds a more tactile grip. And, if that wasn't enough, it adds a bit of personality. There's a good chance a home has more than one pair of AirPods, and this is an easy and fun way to distinguish between them.
Buy at Amazon.
Grovemade Wood MagSafe Stand
This might be the hardest accessory on the list to make an argument for. This wood holder is $120 ($170 for brass) for a $40 charger that's sold separately. If you're not familiar with Grovemade, they make some absolutely incredible products from wood and other materials. Part of using wood is purely about the aesthetic, which is not always cost-effective. So $120 for a MagSafe charger holder? The argument is that it's beautiful, and that's all you need to know. If it catches your eye, it will be hard to forget it.
Buy at Grovemade.
Studio Neat Apple TV Remote Stand
TV remotes get lost and can be hard to find. The solution? Put it back in the same spot after each use. Studio Neat's Apple TV stand for the Apple TV remote does just that. It helps anchor it to a single location in your room. There's not much to it. The stand is a small piece of wood carved out to fit the remote in a slightly reclining position. But it works.
Studio Neat has two versions depending on which remote you have. With the newest Apple TV 4K, Apple did something a growing number of people thought it would never do—updated the remote design. So Studio Neat updated its design, and you now can select between whichever of the two best accommodates the width of your Siri Remote.
Buy at Studio Neat.
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Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Tyler Hayes is a product reviewer for Newsweek. He has contributed extensively to WIRED, The New York Times, Fast Company, ... Read more
