With every new product that Apple launches, there is an equally interesting increased interest in the accessories that I can use to jazz up my imaginary setup! Take for example Apple’s latest 27-inch iMac – designated to be the biggest change Apple ever made in the iMac’s configuration under the hood. Now while I imagine buying me that sleek design, I’m wondering if the Kolude’s Keyboard that doubles as a hub will be the perfect accessory, or shall I look for something new? With Apple all set to launch the new ARM-based machines in the market, let’s start looking and picking the accessory of our choice to deck out the latest config they plan to hit us with. After all, the promise of cheaper prices and a 9-10 hour battery life might be the reason we need to trade in our older models once again!
Joyce Kang and C.O Design Lab’s Pod Case gives the Apple Watch a much-needed history lesson, introducing it to the ancestor that started the Apple craze. The watch’s screen roughly matches the screen size found in classic iPod Nanos, while its body is only a slight bit thicker. The Pod Case, made in silicone, slides right over the Apple Watch body, giving it a funky throwback, while also letting you use the watch as-is.
Of all the cable-managing solutions I’ve seen in the near 30 years of my existence, SuperCalla’s solution seems the most compelling. I’ve seen thick cables, flat cables, coiled cables, woven cables, and even cable-holders, but nothing is as convincing as the video above. Say hello to the SuperCalla charging cable. It looks like most cables, except for that at certain intervals the SuperCalla cable has magnets around it. These magnets effortlessly organize your cables and keep them organized, thanks to the satisfying snap of magnetic attraction. The magnets allow you to easily open the cable out, using as much as necessary, therefore keeping your drawer, bag, and general workplace as neat as possible. Besides, I imagine they’re incredibly fun to fidget with too!
It seems that Stephen Chu may have made one of the most marvelous breakthroughs in the computer peripherals category. Say hello to the Kolude KD-K1, a sleek external keyboard with a pretty interesting twist. With circular keys that sit within a machined aluminum base giving it a neo-retro vibe, the Kolude KD-K1 keyboard is a visual treat with tactile scissor-switch keys that make it a great keyboard to type on too. Designed to be the Swiss-Army-Knife of keyboards, the Kolude KD-K1 makes sure you’ll never have to bend over and reach behind a CPU to plug a pen-drive in again.
At nearly 1/4th the price of Apple’s own Magic Keyboard for the iPad Pro, the Mokibo Folio provides the same set of features in a portable, accessible, and universally compatible format. Designed to work with multiple devices, and with a foldable stand that lets you prop those devices up as you type, the Mokibo Folio is a QWERTY keyboard that also doubles up as an iPad case. Designed, however, with a touch-sensitive surface that sits under the entire right-half the keyboard’s key-surface, the Mokibo goes from keyboard to touch-board just simply by running your hand over the right-hand side of the keyboard’s surface, allowing you to swipe, pinch, and perform a wide variety of gestures.
This wireless charging system kit by Scosche is modular and expandable, you are now free from hours of untangling cables for each device because this one dock is a home-for-all. You’ll be happy to know that it just requires one power out and given its modular nature, it is portable so you can use it at home or at work. The BaseLynx charging kit is compatible with all iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, Airpods, and even iPods – yes this station EXISTS and all us Apple fans are excited about giving our devices a resting spot as sleek as they are. It has many individual parts that you can choose and pick from to BYOB (Build Your Own BaseLynx). An interesting feature is the Vert charging module where you can charge three devices at once on the same base.
The designers at CURVED/Labs imagined what this bridge between the Airpods and the Homepod would look like. Taking very strong design cues from the Homepod, these smart headphones boast of large audio drivers that deliver spectacular sound, along with a touch-sensitive panel that lets you tap and swipe to access the headphone’s smart features. The headphones even pay tribute to the Homepod with the colored waveform-graphic found on the Homepod’s touch-panel and the faux-weave texture around it. I imagine the headphones also pack noise-canceling, as is expected with high-quality audio products, and from the looks of it, these concept headphones even come with a neat wireless charging dock/hanger. The Airpods do work with Android phones, so it’s safe to imagine that these headphones would too, but just like the Airpods, functionality would be extremely limited, and the touch panel wouldn’t be of much use.
AXS Technologies from Brooklyn, NY has created a new and innovative product that unifies all of your most important devices into one sleek system essentially making the AirPod’s native charging case obsolete. Power1 takes portability and functionality to a new level giving you a system that’s doubly useful because it doesn’t just charge and protect for your iPhone… it charges and protects your Airpods too and ensures they are always with you and ready for use. Designed as an evolution of traditional battery cases, Power1 not only holds an extra battery but also manages your Airpods like no other system. Armed with proprietary design, Power1 comes with two modes. One, where it charges your Airpods only (up to 30 times on a full battery), and a second mode that charges your Airpods as well as your phone, giving both gadgets full advantage of Power1’s 3000mAh internal battery.
The designer Evan Stuart felt the need to create a truly effortless, delightful, and seamless user experience that went beyond beautiful aesthetics. Link is a one-stop-shop to keep devices charged, synced, and ‘linked’ together with as minimal cables and inconveniences as possible. The keyboard is a constant at everyone’s desk and therefore the peripheral devices were formed to work around it like modular accessories. The set includes the keyboard along with ’tiles’ which are the peripheral accessories. These tiles include a drawing tablet, wireless charging pads, a touchpad, a number pad, and a dial which is the most interesting of them all. “Pan around. Zoom. Select. Click. Clack. Rotate. The Dial instantly becomes your favorite digital input tool,” says the designer about including the playful accessory. All modules are battery operated and magnetically connect to the side of the keyboard to dock and recharge when low on charge before being reused again. It also comes equipped with NFC, Bluetooth, and wireless charging capabilities to make it the ultimate unifying hub. Less is more, and less is specifically one cable.
To help you understand why the OMNIA X Series is such a sensible piece of tech, unlike most plugs that are designed around their components, the OMNIA X Series is designed around the footprint of a power-socket. The power-socket is a standard format and the OMNIA X Series tries to limit its shape and size to that format, resulting in a plug that’s small because being small is just a sensible direction to design in. This allows the plug to fit into sockets and strips (even over-crowded ones) without really blocking or interfering with other plugs/switches around it. The OMNIA X Series, despite its size, comes in three variants with 30W and 18W power delivery and the ability to quick-charge your Android and Apple devices with ease. It even packs foldable pins, allowing you to easily carry your charging adapter with you everywhere you go in your backpack or even your pocket.
Like all of Satechi’s products, the USB-C Magnetic Charging Dock comes with Apple-certified MFI charging, and works across all generations of the Apple Watch. The dock plugs right into the side of the iPad Pro or the MacBook Pro, although you could just as easily use it with any power-bank too. The sleek aluminum design does a pretty good job of blending in with Apple’s design language, while inbuilt magnets securely hold onto your watch as it charges, allowing you to dock your iPad on a stand without worrying about the watch slipping or falling off. Neat, eh? Maybe you could even use it as a small extended display too, running a timer, your clock, or the weather app right beside your screen as you work or browse the web!
Check out more innovative Apple accessories in the first part of this series!
