Take your iPhone or iPad to the next level with these cool accessories. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
You love your iPhone, you love your iPad, but what if you could make them even more worthy of your (letâs be honest, slightly creepy) affection?
Weâve found four peripherals thatâll enhance, protect and expand the capabilities of your favorite iDevice. From glow-in-the-dark charging cables to slim charging cases and flexible mounts, thereâs something here anybody can enjoy. Take a look!
Instantly add 32 gigs of fast, secure storage to your iOS device with this pocket-size drive. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
Plenty of people complain about the limited space on their iPhone or iPad, but what can you really do about it? Well, getting an iSafe Drive Lite is a great start. Itâs a palm-size drive that adds 32GB of secure storage to your iOS phone or tablet. Itâs also the first-ever MFI-certified storage device built specifically for iOS, and right now you can get one for just $69.
Looking for some great iPhone photography accessories for your gear bag? Here are the best tripods and mounts! Photo: Ally Kazmucha/The App Factor
In a few weeks, my partner and I are heading to London and Iceland for a two-week vacation. While London definitely isnât a first for us, Iceland is. This trip also marks another important first for me: Itâs the very first time Iâm leaving my DSLR at home. Iâll be relying solely on my iPhone 6s Plus for all my photos.
iKlips makes it easy to store and transfer data for any iOS device. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
The iKlips might be the easiest and fastest data storage and transfer option for iOS devices. At 32 gigs, itâs got a USB on one end and a Lightning on the other, making it easy to access your music, photos, documents, and more at a momentâs notice. Right now a 32 gig iKlips drive is just $65.
The iPhone and iPad are great companions on and off the stage with the help of these amazing accessories. Photo: Austin Prock/Unsplash
iPhones and iPads have become more than just media-consumption devices in so many ways. From using an iPad as a virtual cookbook to using it as a portable way to develop a website, the iPad and iPhone are extremely useful in everyday life. One of the biggest categories where these devices have made a huge difference is music.
When it comes to charging docks, not all are created equal. Here are my favorite two and why I like them better than everything else out there. Photo: Ally Kazmucha/The App Factor
If thereâs a single iPhone and iPad accessory I consider myself to be the most picky about, it would be charging docks and stands. While there isnât a shortage of options, letâs be honest, most of them arenât that great. They either donât dock securely or theyâre obsolete when a new iPhone or iPad form factor comes out.
Thatâs why Iâve narrowed down my vote for best iPhone and iPad charging docks to only two candidates. Yep, just two. Hereâs what they are and why I think theyâre better than most:
Add up to 128 gigs of Micro SD storage directly to your iDevice via Lightning or USB 3.0.
A gig sure isnât what it used to be. Give it a few months and that capacious new iPhone of yours is going to be busting at the seams from too many bytes. Thankfully you donât have to get a new phone, go on a data diet or even look to the cloud for help, just add up to 128 gigs of extra storage with Xtraâs Lightning Flash Drive. Right now you can get one for just $71.99, including a 16GB micro SD card.
7 must-have accessories for the iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch owner on the go. Photo: Unsplash
I travel frequently, both for work and for pleasure. Over the past few years Iâve found certain accessories I just canât live without. Whether Iâm walking out the door to a coffee shop or I am getting on a plane and need to pack more serious gear, these are the travel accessories I couldnât live without when it comes to iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch.
The JIC case for iPhone lets you instantly begin recording a phone conversation with the touch of a button. Photo: JIC
Thereâs no great way to record phone conversations. Apps and recording services come with fees and limitations. Thereâs my clunky way â putting the phone on speaker with my digital recorder nearby â but I will often lose a good quote from some sudden outside noise.
A company in Israel wants to mass produce a simple solution with an iPhone case that has a built-in recorder to pick up both sides of the conversation with the press of a button.
Dead battery? Get cranking with the AMPWare case. Photo: AMPWare
Now more than ever, we are able to manage our anxiety over a dead iPhone battery. There are plenty external power banks and battery cases on the market, but even those need to be charged.
The AMPWare Case revives a dead battery much like your great grandfather started his horseless buggy â with a hand crank.
You can now use this to connect USB peripherals to your iPhone. Photo: Apple
Appleâs Lightning to USB connector has ostensibly been about connecting your iPad to a camera to import images directly to your tablet.
Now, with iOS 9.2, it looks like the same adapter can be used on your iPhone to get photos onto your smaller-screened device.
Thereâs even some evidence that the Lightning to USB adapter works to connect other USB peripherals, like MIDI keyboards or USB-powered microphones. If youâre a musician on the road without access to your iPad, this might be your new best solution.
Baby it's cold outside; use these gloves. Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac
Best List: Double Layered Knit Touchscreen Gloves by Mujjo
Itâs almost winter, and if you reside in an area with a climate like mine, you know youâll be carrying gloves with you no matter where you go. When you live someplace like Anchorage, Alaska, even a quick trip outside to the trash bin requires that you cover up.
And yet, we live in a touchscreen world. I have my iPhone with me all the time, and I use it to stay connected to my kids and family members as I move around the winter wonderland. Pulling off a glove every time I want to play a song or answer a text is time-consuming and sometimes dangerous.
If thatâs something you worry about, Mujjoâs got you covered, quite literally, with these new double-layered touchscreen gloves.
The STACK PACK takes the cord out of charging your iPhone. Photo: STACKED
We are wireless, but not quite wire-free. One company wants to help iPhone users cut a couple of cords with a magnetic charging solution called the STACK PACK.
Itâs all capital letters for a product that sounds more like workout vitamins. The STACK PACK promises to pack just as much power as that soon-to-be obsolete charging cord â except with shorter charging times and a satisfying feeling as your iPhone magnetically clicks onto a battery or charger.
Your iPhone and flashlight app can create a cozy ambiance for reading. Photo: Peleg Design
The iPhone can do a lot of things, but work as a functional piece of furniture? Yes, as one design studio proved when it created a tiny lampshade that clips to the iPhone.
Activate the flashlight app and behold, a nightstand reading light.
The Jamstik is a versatile and super portable MIDI controller that plays just like a normal guitar. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
Computers, tablets, even iPhones have grown into powerful tools for music making, but for many who play guitar the bridge from analog instrument to digital devices can be an intimidating one. The Jamstik Wireless Smart Guitar is a great way to cross the digital divide, a MIDI controlling guitar with frets and strings that feel familiar to any guitaristâs fingers. Itâs also cheaper than most keyboard controllers (and certainly guitars), available right now for just $149.99.
The BACtrack turns your phone into an accurate breathalyzer, eliminating any doubt as to whether it's a good idea to get behind the wheel. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
You good to drive? Unfortunately the answer to that question isnât always the right one, and if a cop has to answer it for you itâs a good bet theyâll be getting the truth. One of the reasons is that they can actually see how much youâve had to drink by measuring it in your breath. Of course nobody should hop in a car after drinking any amount, but with the BACtrack Vio Smartphone Breathalyzer, you can take the role of cop before one rolls up on you or your friends if thereâs any question. Itâs a disaster averting tool that you can get for just $39.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.
The ALUMINUM Slider case for the iPhone 6 by Gresso has a secret drawer for a credit card. Photo: Gresso
Those iPhone cases that hold cash and credit cards are fine as long as you want to look like youâre carrying your motherâs wallet.
Luxury accessories design company Gresso has a solution to return your overriding need to be practical back to cool. It has designed a stylish aircraft aluminum iPhone 6 case that has a hidden slide-out drawer for your cards. Jony Ive might approve.
iPin's laser pointer fits right in your iPhone's headphone jack. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
Whether for presentations or driving your cat up the wall, laser pointers are as fun as they are useful. Given everything else an iPhone can do, it only makes sense that it also be able to shine a focused beam of light when and where you need one. The iPin Laser Pointer fits neatly inside your iPhoneâs headphone jack, turning it into a red laser pointer. Batteries arenât an issue, since the iPin sips power straight from the phone, and a built-in switch that means you can leave it in the jack when not in use. iPin also comes with a slideshow-controlling app, which together with the laser make this a great option for anyone who gives regular presentations.
The PowerGo-Go magnetic charging starts with a bumper case that connects to a cable or charging cradle. Photo: PowerGo-Go
The more your iPhone does, the more it draws from the battery â and that means more time spent hunting for an outlet to recharge.
Batteries will get better one day soon, but until then PowerGo-Go has a line of wireless solutions for the iPhone 6, 6 Plus and 6s models to charge, as the name suggests, on the go-go.
The Esbee leather cable hopes to be the last charging cord you ever buy. Photo: Esbee
Itâs usually a question of when, not if, your charging cable is going to start wearing around the point where the cord meets the connector. And maybe youâll try to make it work for a little while, but sooner or later your denial will wear off and youâre going to have to drop the cash on a new one. And then the whole sad process starts over.
One company is hoping to break the cycle with a leather cable that is not only tough but also aims to be the best-working cord youâve ever bought.
The uHandy kit turns an iPhone's camera app into a mobile microscope. Photo: David Pierini/Cult of Mac
Humankind is not depending on me to cure some terrible epidemic. That takes the pressure off and lets me have a little fun as I try a device that turns my iPhone into a fairly powerful microscope.
With a clip-on aspheric lens and transmitted light base that weighs only a few ounces, the makers of uHandy Microscope boast of it having a resolution comparable to a traditional microscope that weighs down a lab table in a classroom.
Samples can be magnified and viewed in the field using your smartphoneâs camera app to record the image and, of course, an instant ability to share the image with colleagues in other places.
The Carson Universal connects smartphones to almost any optical device. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac Photo:
LAS VEGAS â Your iPhone captures great imagery, but sometimes the built-in zoom just isnât enough. An ingenious gadget that quickly connects smartphones to almost any optical device gives your everyday camera superpowers.
The Carson Universal is an incredibly simple idea, but it delivers some pretty astonishing results. You can use it to connect your smartphone to telescopes, binoculars, microscopes, spotting scopes or almost any other optical device with a rounded eyepiece. Instead of buying a specialized, device-specific adapter, itâs a one-size-fits-all optical attachment.
âIt kind of opens up the possibilities,â said Michelle Hyers, the engineer who designed the Carson Universal.
SCiO scans items and tells you what they're made of. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac Photo:
LAS VEGAS â Your iPhone is really great at finding places to eat, recipes to cook and stores to buy food at, but when it comes to actually analyzing the things that go in your mouth, itâs not very futuristic. Thatâs where Consumer Physics comes in with its molecular analyzer called SCiO that brings Star Trek-like tech to your pocket.
SCiO is a tiny spectrometer similar to the giant ones found in laboratories that are used to analyze the molecular makeup of objects. Only instead of pumping out nothing but nerdy scientific facts, SCiO was designed to help iPhone users analyze everyday objects, so you can discover things like how much fat is in a piece of cheese or whether a watermelon is ripe.
âYour iPhone can tell you what song is playing on the radio, but when it comes to telling you the nutritional value of food itâs kind of clueless,â says Consumer Physicsâ CEO Dror Sharon. âWith SCiO weâre encouraging explorers to help us on our mission to map the physical world.â
SAN FRANCISCO â It may come as a surprise, but AT&Tâs is one of the biggest retailers of Apple accessories. The company has more than 2,200 stores across the country, compared to Appleâs 253 US stores. and they sell a boatload of goodies.
On Thursday night, AT&T showcased some of the hottest iPhone and iPad accessories that will be available this Holiday at itâs retail locations.