Everyone uses mobile phones and we think you need some vital smartphone accessories to add more oomph to your experience.
However, you’d agree with me that almost all the accessories that come out of the box are not enough to keep your phone safe.
In this post, we’ve picked out the 10 vital smartphone accessories for iPhone and Android users.
Best Spartphone Accessories
Screen Protector
A vital smartphone accessory for your mobile is a screen protector. Make sure the one you purchase is a tempered glass and is well suited to absorb and contain the effects of a drop or fall.
There are screen protectors which are meant for privacy, so if you are into keeping your phone away from peeping Toms, then its best to invest in a privacy screen protector which is also a tempered glass.
Always go for High Definition and Ultra clarity. There is no such thing is scratch proof, so don’t waste your energy on that. Get something which is either edge to edge or if you are planning to get a case or cover, then one that is not edge to edge.
Smartphone Case / Cover
Next most important item is a smartphone case .
Some think of this as just an accessory, for us, its a necessity. If you plan to invest in a case, behold… because there are some serious choices out there.
- Basic Cases (the cover the back)
- Arm Bands (to strap on arm when exercising)
- Battery Charger Cases (heavy because of battery within the case)
- Dry Bags (for diving and pool)
- Flip Cases (to keep cards and money)
- Covers (they have flip cover only!)
- Sleeves (a pouch really)
A regular or basic smartphone case should be unique enough to be minimal and yet have a long lasting feel to it. It should protect the back of your phone from scratches.
The smartphone case should ideally not add any bulk to your device. So look for something which is slim and lightweight and combines dual layers of TPU and PC material without adding bulk to your phone. These layers will add the ‘bounce’ feature in the event the phone falls to its death.
Power Banks
Having a power bank is quite important because smartphone batteries are limited in capacity and our usage is much more. There are several power ranges available between 3000 mAh and 27000 mAh.
To keep your smartphone active, a power bank can go with you everywhere you go. They are quite portable and are a solid investment. But do make sure they are travel safe (under 100 Watt Hours).
We always prefer Anker, but hey! to each their own. Look out for features like indicating light, quick charge, powerIQ, charging speed, number of ports and device weight.
Charging Cables & Wall Chargers
You can never have enough cables. In fact, you should always keep a spare in case you lose one or in the event that one breaks.
Investing in a good charging cable is very important because no matter how powerful you powerbank is or how robust the wall charger is, you can’t recharge your phone unless you have a cable.
We are in fact mentioning a few accessories here which all require a charging cable at some point.
Also, for smartphones that don’t support wireless charging you need to have a cable to charge. Most cables out there break with daily use, that’s why we suggest these affordable and quality cables on Amazon.
If you are not into power banks or portable chargers, always have a spare wall charger . They are usually travel compact, portable and usually comes with a fast charging or power IQ feature.
USB OTG Flash drives
Computers and laptop have the luxury of adding external hard drives to extend their storage capacity, and thanks to technology advancement, OTG flash drives are here to extend the same courtesy for our smartphones.
Although, not a vital accessory, we feel its a very useful one. Not only do you have the option to add storage capacity between 4GB to 512GB, but because of their compatibility to transfer files between PC and Mac, you suddenly have a great backup solution for your files.
Can you imagine, if you have a whopping 256 GB flash drive, you won’t have to buy cloud storage! Nor will you need to keep everything on your phone. You can simply transfer out the files of music, movies, and documents from your phone to a PC or Mac or vice versa.
OTG flash drives prove to be useful in meetings and gatherings when your friends or colleagues have something on their phone and they can’t email or send you. Just pull out your flash drive and surprise them with an easier way.
Like all flash drives, these come with 2.0 and 3.0 transfer speed and are available for both iOS and Android.
Car Chargers
Not very vital, but useful as heck are car smartphone accessories.
Here we are just going to be talking about the charger. A typical car charger has an adapter that connects to the cigarette lighter in your car. A USB cable then connects your smartphone for charging. Some car chargers come with a multi USB port allowing you to charge more than one device at a time.
As always, make sure the cable you use is good and the charger is compatible with your phone.
Headphones
Headphones and earphones are not a requirement, unless you are into taking calls on the go.
Of course, there are those who want to listen to podcasts and music round the clock, and usually the phone comes with a decent pair. But if you are into getting yourself something more robust then be prepared to pay a price for it because with quality comes a cost.
Be it a wired pair, or a wireless piece, we only recommend Sony. Yes there is Sennheiser, Bose and JBL but for a robust audio experience, a good quality headphone accessory is all that you need.
If you are looking for a full hands-free experience, we recommend Bluetooth headphones . All they need is a charge.
Look out for features like noise cancelling, noise isolating, sweat proof and battery life.
Going old school and staying conencted with a wire is best. Sadly yes the phones don’t come with an audio jack but if you can find a way to stay off rays and waves of bluetooth and wifi, do it. Pick wire headphones and earphones.
Mounts, Stands and Phone Holders
Smartphones mounts and stands are not exactly a must, but over the years people have found them to be useful. In fact, they are downright helpful when taking video calls, looking at maps for guidance and generally not having to pick the phone for constant alerts.
Smartphone mounts come for cars, cycles and bikes.
If you own a cycle or a bike, you won’t have to keep the bulky phone in your pocket. It can simply rest on the handlebar at an angle you won’t miss those urgent call and message alerts.
We don’t recommend answering phones on the road, but yes, you can certainly park your vehicle and take the call or answer the alerts.
Desk stands or phone holders on the other hand are quite useful and come in a variety. Just make sure you pick one which is flexible to adjust and allows you to charge the phone if you need to.
These are in no way a selfie-stick, and if you’re thinking when are we going to cover those, well, they kind of require an entire article – so maybe we will cover them too one day. But back to some more smartphone accessories!
Bluetooth Speakers
A Bluetooth Speaker comes handy when you want to listen to music. These speakers are cool accessory to have. Not vital, yes – but cellphones have aweful speakers and if you are looking to party, hear a speech – then a separate speaker is required.
Bluetooth speakers are quite portable, colourful and if you look for the right type, you will also find waterproof ones for pool parties. Some even connect to others to create a chain connection for even a louder or a theatre like experience.
Since these are Bluetooth enabled, they don’t just connect with smartphones, but also smartwatches, gaming consoles and TVs.
When fully charged, a Bluetooth speaker could last up to 15 hours.
Wireless Chargers
Wireless charging is not available on every cell phone but those phones that do have this feature, their owners do buy wireless chargers.
It’s essentially a plate on which the smartphone is placed, and the charging goes at a very fast rate. And, when we say a plate, we mean a flat surface.
Wireless chargers are either those which come with a stand or a flat horizontal pad.
Wireless chargers for phones now come with the option of charging earphones and watch as well – so lookout for something that is useful for you in the long run!
Well, that’s our take on vital smartphone accessories and we just realised that this a good list for gifts too!
So, class up your (or someone else’s) smartphone with these vital smartphone accessories or useful add-ons (as we like to think of them as).
Do you think we missed any must have mobile accessory?