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10 Best Designs for Phone Accessories in 2024

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Smartphones are powerful pieces of technology crammed in pocket-sized slabs of metal, glass, and plastic. But while they are indeed capable of impressive feats, they naturally can’t do everything on their own. Smartphones cease to be useful when they run out of battery or, worse, get a cracked screen, and no smartphone can actually stand up without some external support. And while smartphones are made to be beautiful and durable by their manufacturers’ standards, their bare forms might not meet the needs and tastes of all users. Smartphone accessories make up a huge and diverse market, and it’s too easy to drown in the number of choices available for different categories and purposes. To help ease the stress and confusion, we’ve collected this year’s 10 best designs that let you get the most out of your smartphone experience.

Arc Pulse Bumper Phone Case

Most smartphone cases sacrifice the device’s innate beauty for added protection. Even clear cases that try to be invisible still make the phone look cheap and unrefined. It may sound like a necessary compromise, but it shouldn’t have to be the case, no pun intended, especially if you have an innovative design that gives you the best of both worlds. With a signature pressure fit, the two pieces of the Arc Pulse slide onto the bottom and top of the smartphone, protecting the most important areas of the device while leaving the rest of the phone’s beautiful design unobscured, just as it was meant to be. Plus, the Arc Pulse’s unique organic design gives your phone more personality, complementing its innate beauty without sacrificing its protection.

Designer: Arc

Why it’s noteworthy:

  • Innovative two-piece design protects the phone without ruining its style
  • Dual-layer shock absorption and distribution ensures total protection from accidents
  • Lightweight and eye-catching design enhances the smartphone’s aesthetic

Casely Power Pod MagSafe Battery Pack

Apple’s MagSafe technology revolutionized the smartphone accessory market, especially when it came to external batteries, a.k.a. power banks. No longer literally tied down by charging cables, these extra batteries are now free to be thinner, smaller, and more expressive as they stick to the back of iPhones. Casely’s line of Power Pod MagSafe Battery Packs takes to the next level with a variety of designs, ranging from minimalist single-color blocks to artistic images, including floral paintings inspired by the great Van Gogh. Of course, these aren’t just pretty faces, as each packs a 5,000 mAh battery that’s good for another 19 hours of uptime, allowing iPhone owners to charge with confidence and in style.

Designer: Casely

Why it’s noteworthy:

  • Thin and lightweight for easier handling and portability
  • Available in a variety of colors and artistic designs
  • Supports both MagSafe and Qi wireless charging as well as wired USB-C

ESR Geo Wallet Stand (HaloLock)

It has become common these days to keep your most used cards on your smartphone, be it through a folio case or, more recently, MagSafe accessories that stick to the phone’s back. After all, you almost always have your phone with you all the time, so you’re unlikely to forget or lose those cards unless you lose your phone, in which case Apple’s My Find network makes locating the device less nerve-wracking. But what if it’s the wallet itself that gets lost without the phone? That’s the stressful problem that the ESR Geo Wallet Stand tries to resolve with its built-in Find My module that uses that same Apple technology to make locating the wallet a breeze. Even better, the handsome MagSafe wallet has a finger loop and a stand, keeping the phone secure in your hand or on a table all the time.

Designer: ESR

Why it’s noteworthy:

  • Built-in My Find module to locate it even if not attached to a phone
  • Multi-functional finger loop and stand for flexibility and convenience
  • Magnetic holding force of 1,500g that’s twice as strong as official Apple wallets

Nomad Goods 65W Slim Power Adapter

Battery packs and power banks are great for charging on the go, but you might easily hit their limitations unless you carry large and heavy bricks all the time. The faster charging method is still a dedicated charger, though you might find yourself scrambling and fumbling around in your bag to pull out the right one. Nomad Goods’ 65W Slim Power Adapter solves that problem by being the only charger you need, even if you have a MacBook. Its slim profile and small footprint make it easy to quickly drop the charger in your bag or even in your pocket, ready to get you charging the moment you reach a power outlet. It can even charge an M1 MacBook at 45W and an iPhone at 20W at the same time from the same brick, potentially winning you friends by not using up all the available outlets.

Designer: Nomad Goods

Why it’s noteworthy:

  • GaN technology offers faster, safer, and more efficient charging in a smaller size
  • Space-efficient compact design with foldable prongs
  • Can charge a single device at 65W or two devices simultaneously at 45W and 20W

Peak Design Mobile Tripod

There’s no shortage of ways available today for propping up a phone, whether it’s for watching videos or making video calls, but most of them either lock you to a single angle or a single height. The Peak Design Mobile Tripod, however, offers unprecedented flexibility in how you want to make your iPhone stand, whether using it as a kickstand or setting it up on an adjustable tripod. Best of all, this mobile tripod is so slim and its magnets are so strong that you can simply snap it onto the back of your phone and take it anywhere with you, ready for your next creative endeavor.

Designer: Peak Design

Why it’s noteworthy:

  • Works as a kickstand or tripod, with a ball tension system for adjusting the angle
  • Ultra-slim 0.5cm profile with an ultra-premium machined and anodized aluminum body
  • Works with MagSafe phones or any phone with a Peak Design case or Universal Adapter

Pitaka Sunset & Moonrise MagEZ Case 5 For iPhone 15 Series

Smartphone cases not only offer added protection, they also allow for personalization and self-expression through a variety of designs. Unfortunately, those advantages come at the price of added bulk to the phone, but Pitaka is proving that it doesn’t have to be the case, no pun intended. Claiming the title of the market’s lightest and thinnest iPhone 15 MagSafe case, the Sunset and Moonrise MagEZ Case 5 adds a distinctive visual and tactile character to the phone thanks to its aramid fiber weaving. Its new Amber Magnet Film glue-free coating allows the case to be extra thin while still providing the conveniences of MagSafe charging and accessories.

Designer: PITAKA

Why it’s noteworthy:

  • Distinctive woven design captures the colors of sunset and moonrise
  • Incredibly thin and light MagEZ Case 5 construction
  • MagSafe compatible with the need for additional accessories

ShiftCam Workflow Sling Bag

Mobile photography has become a rather serious industry of its own, with a plethora of accessories like lenses and tripods to assist hobbyists and pros alike. Unlike other types of photography, however, smartphone users seem to be lacking a bag dedicated to their craft. The ShiftCam Workflow Sling finally brings that missing piece to the puzzle, offering a product that was specifically designed to cater to mobile shutterbugs, with features like dedicated spaces for lenses and MagSafe phone mounts on the strap and on the bag itself. Of course, its simple yet sleek design, not to mention its premium materials, make it a great sling bag for any purpose and occasion as well.

Designer: ShiftCam

Why it’s noteworthy:

  • Specifically designed to support mobile photographers’ workflows
  • Built-in MagSafe mounts provide hands-free video recording options
  • Made with premium and durable materials to support mobile lifestyles

Spigen iPhone 15 Slim Armor CS Case

Smartphone cases that let you carry two or three of your most important cards are nothing new, but most of the designs available today place these cards in a very conspicuous hump, sometimes even exposed for everyone to see. Having honed their skills at crafting a variety of case designs for different purposes, Spigen came out with an interesting alternative that hides those cards from view. Almost like revealing treasure behind a sliding secret door, the Spigen Slim Armor CS case for the iPhone 15 manages to hold your most frequently used cards in a hidden pocket without making the case thicker than it should be.

Designer: Spigen

Why it’s noteworthy:

  • Sliding mechanism cleverly hides two cards until they need to be used
  • Slim profile with essential protection against scratches and drops
  • Simple, elegant two-tone design

TORRAS Ostand R iPhone Case with Rotating Ring Stand

Smartphone ring holders and stands have become a popular solution mostly due to their simplicity and small footprint, but they are hardly the most aesthetic nor practical option out there. They tend to stick out from the back of your phone even when you’re not using them, and they’re positions are more or less fixed the moment you slap them on. The TORRAS Ostand R iPhone case brings all the benefits of these rings with none of the drawbacks, thanks to an innovative design that folds the ring flat when not in use and rotates it to your desired position. Plus, you don’t lose compatibility with MagSafe chargers and accessories, even while enjoying the protection that the case offers.

Designer: TORRAS

Why it’s noteworthy:

  • World’s first 360-degree Rotating Ring Stand Case with MagSafe Compatibility
  • Ring folds flat and stays out of the way when not in use
  • Minimalist design matches the aesthetics of the iPhone inside the case

Twelve South Butterfly 2-in-1 MagSafe Charger

MagSafe chargers are a dime a dozen these days, but most of them fall into two camps. On one side, you have single-device chargers that can be as simple as a small disk, and on the other side you have large charging pads that can charge two or three devices at once. Proving that you don’t have to be forced to pick either side, the Twelve South Butterfly MagSafe charger combines the versatility of a multi-device wireless charger with the simplicity and portability of a small disc. The foldable design lets you quickly slip it into your pocket when you need to jet, and its unfolded form takes up almost no room at all.

Designer: Twelve South

Why it’s noteworthy:

  • Innovative design fits 2 wireless chargers in a size no bigger than your palm
  • Supports charging two devices at the same time
  • Anodized aluminum shell for durability and vegan leather surfaces to protect devices

The post 10 Best Designs for Phone Accessories in 2024 first appeared on Yanko Design.

World’s smallest smartphone turns into a gaming handheld with this case

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Gaming smartphones are quite the novelty in the mobile world, but despite their advertised or actual gaming chops, they often lack the necessary controls that would put them on par with consoles. Conversely, most of these gaming smartphones have designs that make them a little less appropriate for more formal environments with their flashy RGB lighting and distinctive motifs. A middle ground between these two extremes would be to slap on some controllers on “normal” but premium handsets, effective but also a little too mundane these days. This rather unusual phone case, however, tries to add a new flavor to mobile gaming by introducing not only an unusual controller design but also by making it exclusive to one of the weirdest and cutest smartphones in the market.

Designer: Sugar Cubes (via Retro Dodo)

The Unihertz Jelly Star is obviously not your typical smartphone. With a size that’s no larger than a credit card, the tiny device is advertised as the world’s smallest Android 13 smartphone, a title no one will probably try to wrest away from it anyway. With a 3-inch screen, a transparent colored back, and some rather reasonable specs for its size, the Jelly Star is probably also the world’s cutest smartphone.

A Chinese accessory maker by the name of Sugar Cubes is taking that cuteness and turning it into something that even gamers will find alluring. Rather than simply attaching controllers, which would be gigantic compared to the Jelly Star, you will instead insert the tiny phone into a large, boxy case that transforms it into a rather unusual gaming handheld that is more reminiscent of the “Game & Watch” devices of old than any modern handheld console. Even the controls themselves are in non-standard locations, even though they provide most of the standard buttons, including a joystick.

There seem to be two designs for the Sugar Cube Jelly. One has the Unihertz Jelly Star lying horizontally and near the top, giving the device a more Game Boy-like appearance, though short in stature. The other has the phone standing vertically in the middle, flanked by two sets of controls, a design closer to the Nintendo Switch by some stretch of the imagination. Details on how the small phone will be inserted into the case are still slim, though it seems that the vertical design will simply have the Jelly Star slip into the case from the side, with one of the controllers swinging open like a flap.

The unconventional and eye-catching design of the Sugar Cube Jelly makes it perfect for branded merchandise, theming the colors and decals accordingly. That said, there’s still no word on when this product will actually hit the market, or if it will even be made available outside of China. Even then, the Unihertz Jelly Star isn’t exactly oozing with power, so while you might be able to comfortably run some retro games via emulation, forget about boasting your odd contraption while playing Genshin Impact.

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Clicks QWERTY keyboard iPhone case brings back the joy of typing

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Remember the days when you could swiftly type a long response on your phone in just seconds? Even if you didn’t own a BlackBerry, our amazing human brains managed to evolve to adapt to the esoteric T9 input, resulting in a flurry of thumbs hammering out text at mind-blowing speeds. Just like with pen and paper, there are benefits to having physical keys to type with, including muscle memory, accuracy, and sheer satisfaction. Those are the joys that this new case is trying to bring to the iPhone by snapping on a full yet tiny QWERTY keyboard that gives creators the power to turn text into stories, quickly and accurately.

Designers: Michael Fisher and Kevin Michaluk

Although the BlackBerry is now a footnote in history, there was a time when it was the de facto standard of productivity. It’s a bit ironic that its most iconic feature is all but a memory today when text is even more critical in mobile life. From notes to todos to captions to messages, we type plenty of text on our touchscreen smartphones, which painfully drives home the fact that these smooth, flat surfaces have terrible ergonomics and haptics for such an activity. There have been a few attempts at resurrecting the BlackBerry or at least bringing the physical QWERTY keyboard to smartphones, but Clicks is trying to differentiate itself by projecting a fun and creative character that’s more in line with today’s creators.

For one, the cases distance themselves from the drab and serious styles of business-minded BlackBerry clones by embracing colors and curves, whether it’s the yellow Bumblebee or even the gray London Sky. Perhaps to avoid any litigation like its forebears, Clicks adopts circular keys with some spacing in between, giving the keyboard a more whimsical appearance. Regardless of the design, the Clicks QWERTY case has the same mission as all other QWERTY cases before it, bringing a familiar sensation to upgrade the typing experience. Best of all, the keyboard no longer eats up half your screen, leaving room for more content.

Using the case itself is as simple as pie. You slide the iPhone in from the top, carefully align the Lightning or USB-C connector, and snap the top on. The case doesn’t have a battery of its own, which makes it lighter and cheaper, so it draws power from the iPhone itself. It does support pass-through charging so you don’t have to remove the case just to charge the iPhone. The one drawback of its simple design is that MagSafe accessories won’t stick to it, but you can still enjoy wireless charging on a flat horizontal surface.

The Clicks QWERTY keyboard case is compatible only with the iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 models, though their availability won’t happen all at the same time. The $139 price tag is going to be debatable, especially for those who aren’t yet convinced of the advantages of having a physical keyboard at the cost of making a tall phone even taller. But for creators who find themselves always pecking at their phone’s screen, this quirky accessory is a done deal.

The post Clicks QWERTY keyboard iPhone case brings back the joy of typing first appeared on Yanko Design.

This compostable iPhone case can be potted to grow plants and flowers

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Although smartphone manufacturers design their phones to be durable and resilient, a lot of owners still fret over the safety of their expensive purchases. Phone cases are a dime a dozen, but while that might be good for variety and choice, it’s terrible for the planet. These accessories are almost all made from some form of plastic or another, and they get discarded left and right the moment they become discolored or damaged. Very few manufacturers pay close attention to this aspect because of how protective cases have to be made cheap and plenty. Fortunately, there is a number that does take that responsibility quite seriously, producing this revolutionary iPhone case that you can plant in the soil after it has reached its end of life to watch it grow into new life as plants and flowers.

Designer: iGreen

There’s no rule that phone cases have to be made from plastic or plastic-like materials, they just happen to be cheap, durable, and long-lasting. They’re not immortal, of course, and once cases break or get discolored over time, they’re completely useless and have to be thrown out. That’s not even considering perfectly usable cases that are disposed of simply because they are no longer attractive or match the owner’s interests. Some manufacturers do have programs for recycling the plastics in these cases to make new cases, but iGreen Gadgets actually has an even more creative use for these discarded accessories.

For starters, the case is 100% compostable, so it will decay and dissolve into the earth when buried. The material is based on cornstarch, a very common biodegradable substance that’s also used in many plastic alternatives. Even the powder used to produce colors is also naturally based. Despite its completely biodegradable nature, the cases still provide the necessary protection your iPhone needs to survive accidents and avoid an early retirement in landfills.

The difference from other bioplastic cases is that each iGreen Cover case contains living seeds protected by a special water-soluble film inside the cover. Once the case has served its purpose, you simply have to plant it in a pot at a 30-degree angle with the inside of the cover facing up. You cover it with soil while leaving the upper half of the case exposed, water it, and expose it to sunlight, and within a few weeks, you will be able to witness your phone case transforming into plants.

Different case colors hold different kinds of seeds. Green will grow basil, yellow for daisies, and light blue for Forget-me-nots. The case itself, specifically the cornstarch, contains everything the seeds need to survive inside the case and then grow once planted. The plants that grow won’t be that practical. The flowers are mostly decorative, though basil can probably be used for cooking. Still, it’s a rather ingenious and creative way to reuse a product that’s often discarded mindlessly, turning a planet-killer into a plant-grower.

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