Having an iPhone also means equipping yourself with several accessories to take full advantage of it, or quite simply to avoid damaging it. Whether for a modest iPhone SE or for a iPhone 14 Pro Max, there is food and drink at third-party vendors. A brief overview of the best iPhone accessories to make your new machine profitable.
Protect your iPhone
You like the design of your 14 Pro, but you don’t want to hide it behind a cover? You have one, but are still the king of clumsy? A subscription to the AppleCare+ extended warranty program should be useful.
AppleCare+ offers a material warranty covering an unlimited number of incidents falling within the scope of accidental damage. This means that you can find your iPhone as new every time you break it, for a deductible ranging between €29 and €99. In case of theft or loss, you will be asked 129 €. You can misplace two devices per 12 month period.
For the iPhone 14, iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini or iPhone 12, it will cost you €179 for 2 years or €8.99 per month. The price increases for the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max: €249, or €12.49 per month. Since this summer, Apple has offered a formula covering cases of loss or theft of the device. The prices are more expensive: €309 for two years in the case of an iPhone 14 Pro (or Pro Max), €239 for the iPhone 14, iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini or iPhone 12.
AppleCare+ theft and loss insurance available in France, how much does it cost?
Before going to checkout, don’t forget to check your home insurance or that of your bank card. These can include smartphone coverage: it would be a shame to pay twice for the same service.
To protect your iPhone, nothing better than a good protective case. Apple offers these silicone models which are rather fragile with a rather bad value for money. We also advise against leather shells which are quite expensive and not necessarily of very good quality considering the price. If you don’t want to spend a fortune, ESR displays shells less than 15 € which are quite well made. Elago’s models are also nice for an attractive price.
If your budget is around 25 €, Rhinoshield offers shells that protect a little better which have the advantage of being available in multiple colors. The manufacturer displays what to do for all models, be it the iPhone 14 Pro Max or the standard 14. The most awkward can turn to the large hulls of Otterbox, sold around 50 €but which provide enhanced protection.
A protective glass is also an essential accessory, especially if you plan to carry your iPhone in a bag with your keys. Range Glas.tR from Spigen comes with an alignment carriage ensuring simple, bubble-free installation. The installation is unmissable and the price is not too excessive given that there are two panes in the box: we recommend the product with our eyes closed.
Spigen Glas.tR mini-test for iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro
Charge your iPhone
While waiting for the arrival of USB-C, iPhones still come with a Lightning cable. We can never have enough: one in the office, another in the car, one in the kitchen, one for the bedside table… Cupertino bills 25 € the cable, which is too expensive to build up a small collection. For its part, Amazon markets its MFi cables which are twice cheaper. A good trick is to take 1.8m cable for the bedroom, which will be practical for using your phone quietly in bed.
The advantage of third-party cables is that they are sold in different colours and in practical formats: some can go up to 3 meters. Less reputable accessories also offer cheaper, but not MFi-certified, cable packs. It is quite difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff at this level, and we recommend that you stick to known brands.
When it comes to chargers, Anker is a renowned manufacturer for products that are much smaller than Apple’s, but just as beefy. The 30 W model is for example less than 20 €. A smart purchase can be a more powerful version with 3 USB ports, which will allow you to charge your iPhone, your watch and your MacBook simultaneously pour 45 €.
An external battery will also be useful on the go or for travel. Anker’s magnetic batteries are quite successful: they clip onto the back of the latest iPhones and cost between €40 et 60 € depending on the sizes. A crutch allows them to be placed on a table in order to watch a video, for example. If you have an iPhone that isn’t MagSafe (like the iPhone SE or iPhone 11), you may want to consider a big model which will be practical on vacation to charge several devices at the same time.
Anker’s MagGo family preview: should you fall for these magnetic accessories?
Several docking stations are also available, in order to simultaneously charge several devices. Ideal for a bedside table or next to your Mac! In this game, Belkin has several cards in his hand with stations for charge iPhone and AirPodsanother 3-in-1 on which we can add son Apple Watch and a last similar, but nicer design. more compact, la station HiRise from Twelve South is interesting even if it hides the screen of the watch and does not offer fast charging.
Twelve South HiRise 3 Charger Review for iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods
Take advantage of MagSafe
The Magsafe is not only used to charge your phone: it also unlocks a whole ecosystem of accessories! For example, you can add a card holder to your iPhone, which is very practical for going out without a wallet.
Apple offers its model at 69 €, which we were able to test and which is very well finished, but perhaps a bit expensive for what it does. The props have their own models, such as the (Re)Classic from Native Union or Mujio’s model. If they cost 20 € less, they have nothing to be ashamed of in terms of quality. However, they lack the Locate function to be completely at the same level as Apple.
Preview of the new MagSafe card holder, which is located in the event of loss
Preview of the MagSafe Native Union and Mujjo card holders, two stylish cases
In the same genre, the MagSafe allows you to use a whole bunch of support. This will be practical in the car for example: no need to wedge your iPhone in a not really stable clip that fails to fall with each speed bump. Spigen offers a model at €28.99 while Belkin displays one that also serves phone charger 10W at €40.
The MagSafe support rings are also a good investment by offering a better grip as well as a small foot allowing you to comfortably watch videos on the go. Anker’s MagGo model is at 16 €which is in the average price of this type of accessory.
The PopSockets brand has its own bulkier grip system called ” PopGrip », available in several colors. For its part, Rhinoshield has its version ” Gripmax » with many nice patterns for half the price (16 € instead of 30 €). The beauty of magnets is that you don’t have to stick them to a case to put it on, which is still more practical.
Still in the magnetic field, the MagSafe allows you to use your iPhone as a webcam thanks to the Continuity camera: all you have to do is use ce support created by Belkin. A version dedicated to screens should arrive soon.
Testing Belkin’s MagSafe mount to turn iPhone into Mac’s webcam
Play sports
There is plenty to do as iPhone accessories if you are sporty. A good pair of wireless headphones will be ideal for going for a run or for indoor training sessions. The top of the top is obviously the AirPods Pro 2 which are displayed at 300 €. More modest AirPods 3 are 92 € less and still offer very good sound as well as spatial audio.
If your budget is more limited, many manufacturers offer wireless headphones for a price of around 50 €. This is the case of Jabra or even of JBL which displays even small in-ear models less than 30 €. Again, stick to reputable brands and avoid too-good-to-be-true deals, especially when the product isn’t sold and shipped by a known seller.
Finally, a sports armband is an inexpensive but very practical accessory. There are models for fifteen euros on Amazon, and some even display a magnetic cover system allowing you to quickly consult your phone if necessary.