The best accessories for the new iPhone

Owning an iPhone also means equipping yourself with a few accessories to make the most of it, or just to keep it from getting damaged. Whether it’s the humble iPhone SE or the iPhone 14 Pro Max, there’s plenty to eat and drink from third-party vendors. A quick roundup of the best iPhone accessories to make your new machine affordable.

Protect your iPhone

Love the design of the 14 Pro but don’t want to hide it behind a cover? Do you have one, but are you still the king of awkwardness? Subscribing to the AppleCare+ extended warranty program should be beneficial.

AppleCare+ provides hardware warranty for an unlimited number of accidental damage events. This means you can find your iPhone like new every time you crack it, with discounts ranging from €29 to €99. In case of theft or loss, you will be charged €129. You can mistake two devices for 12 months.

For iPhone 14, iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini or iPhone 12, it will cost €179 for 2 years or €8.99 per month. The price increases for iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max: €249 or €12.49 per month. Starting this summer, Apple offers a formula that covers lost or stolen devices. Prices are more expensive: 309 euros for two years for the iPhone 14 Pro (or Pro Max), 239 euros for the iPhone 14, iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini or iPhone 12.

AppleCare+ theft and damage insurance is available in France, how much does it cost?

Don’t forget to check your home insurance or bank card before you go to checkout. These may include smartphone coverage: it would be a shame to pay twice for the same service.

There is nothing better than a good protective case to protect your iPhone. Apple offers these models out of silicon, they are quite fragile and quite bad value for money. We also advise against leather sheaths that are quite expensive and not very good quality for the price. If you don’t want to spend a fortune, ESR shows bodies for under €15 and it’s pretty good quality. The Elago models are also beautiful at an attractive price.

If your budget is around €25, Rhinoshield offers slightly better protective shells, which also have the advantage of being available in multiple colors. The manufacturer shows what to do for all models, be it the iPhone 14 Pro Max or the standard 14. The most clumsy can turn to Otterbox’s large cases, which sell for €50 but 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. Spigen’s Glas.tR range comes complete with an alignment carriage that ensures simple, bubble-free installation. The installation is unmissable, and considering that there are two panels in the box, the price is not too high: we recommend the product blindfolded.

Spigen Glas.tR mini-test for iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro

Charge your iPhone

While waiting for USB-C to arrive, iPhones still come with a Lightning cable. You can never have enough of them: one in the office, one in the car, one in the kitchen, one for the bedside table… Cupertino charges 25 euros per cable, which is too expensive to build a small collection. In turn, Amazon sells MFi cables at half price. A good tip is to take a 1.8m cable for the bedroom, which will be practical to use your phone quietly in bed.

The advantage of third-party cables is that they are sold in various colors and convenient formats: some can go up to 3 meters. Less reputable accessories also offer cheaper but non-MFi certified cable bundles. 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 popular manufacturer for smaller but equally beefy products than Apple. A 30 W model, for example, costs less than €20. A smart buy would be the more powerful version with 3 USB ports, which will allow you to charge your iPhone, watch and MacBook at the same time for €60.

An external battery will be useful both on the road and for travel. Anker’s magnetic batteries are quite successful: they stick to the back of the latest iPhones and cost between 40 and 60 euros, depending on the size. A crutch allows you to place them on a table to watch a video, for example. If you have an iPhone without MagSafe (for example, iPhone SE or iPhone 11), you can consider a large model that will come in handy on vacation to charge multiple devices at the same time.

Introducing Anker’s MagGo family: should you fall for these magnetic accessories?

There are also several docking stations to charge multiple devices at the same time. Perfect for your bedside table or next to your Mac! In this game, Belkin has several cards with stations to charge iPhone and AirPods, other 3-in-1s you can add Apple Watch and the like, but it has a nicer design. More compact, the HiRise station from Twelve South is interesting, even if it hides the watch’s display and doesn’t offer fast charging.

Twelve South HiRise 3 Charger Review for iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods

Take advantage of MagSafe

Magsafe isn’t just used to charge your phone: it also opens up a whole ecosystem of accessories! For example, you can add a card holder to the iPhone, which is very practical for going out without a wallet.

Apple offers its model for €69, we were able to test it and it’s very well made, but perhaps a bit expensive for what it does. These props have their own models, such as the (Re)Classic from Native Union or the Mujio model. If they are 20€ cheaper, they have nothing to be ashamed of in terms of quality. However, they lack the Embedding feature to be completely on par with Apple.

A review of the new MagSafe card holder located in case of loss

A review of MagSafe Native Union and Mujjo card holders, two stylish cases

In the same genre, MagSafe allows you to use many media. This will be practical, for example, in a car: there is no need to clamp the iPhone in a really unstable clip that does not fall off with every speed bump. Spigen offers a model for €28.99, while Belkin has a model that doubles as a 10W phone charger for €40.

The MagSafe support rings are a good investment, offering both a better grip and a small footprint that allows for convenient video viewing on the go. The MagGo model from Anker costs 16 €, which is in the middle of the price for this type of accessory.

The PopSockets brand has a larger grip system called “PopGrip” available in several colors. For its part, Rhinoshield has a “Gripmax” version 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 the case to put them on, which is still more practical.

Thanks to the MagSafe Continuity camera, which is still in the magnetic field, you can use your iPhone as a webcam: you just need to use this support created by Belkin. A version dedicated to screens should be coming soon.

Testing Belkin’s MagSafe unit to turn an iPhone into a Mac webcam

Do sports

If you’re into sports, you can do a lot of things like iPhone accessories. A good pair of wireless headphones will be ideal for jogging or indoor training. The top of the line is obviously the AirPods Pro 2, which is on display at €300. The more modest AirPods 3 are €92 less and still offer very good sound as well as spatial sound.

If your budget is more limited, many manufacturers offer wireless headphones for around €50. This is the case even with Jabra or even JBL, who present small in-ear models for less than €30. Again, stick to reputable brands and avoid deals that are too good to be true, especially if the product is not sold and shipped by a reputable seller.

Finally, a sports armband is an inexpensive but very practical accessory. Amazon has models for around fifteen euros, and some even feature a magnetic cover system that allows you to quickly consult your phone when needed.