10 Unique (And Useful) MagSafe Accessories For Your iPhone

MagSafe is a case study in how when Apple gets something right, it knocks it out of the park. MagSafe connects your iPhone perfectly with a wireless charger via magnets so you're not only reducing energy waste and speeding up charging times, but preventing battery damage caused by your phone being out of alignment. Plus it's just satisfying to hear the thunk of the charging pad settling into place. MagSafe is also strong enough to hold wallets, along with other attachments you can't afford to lose but may need to remove with ease. This has led to a whole host of MagSafe charging accessories, some of which are incredibly unique and surprisingly useful.

Today, we're going beyond the MagSafe battery packs and MagSafe-compatible cases. We want to look at accessories you've probably never heard of before, but which might actually become a mainstay in your everyday life. In this list, we get you started with 10 accessories found across the web.

MagSafe power banks alone are almost good enough to justify buying an iPhone. There is none of that carrying around your smartphone in one hand with your power bank in the other, connected by an annoying wire. The power bank stays locked on, making it safe to put your phone in your pocket or your bag while it charges. But beyond than that, they don't do much else. Ugreen's Foldable Kickstand Magnetic Battery goes a step further by adding a kickstand to an already great product.

The kickstand lets you prop up your phone in portrait or landscape orientation while you're charging it. Normally the big, 10,000mAh capacity would be a turn-off for a MagSafe power bank because of the weight it adds to your iPhone while holding it, so the kickstand makes that fact easier to live since you can set the phone down and keep using it comfortably. If you watch a lot of YouTube on the go — or have kids stealing your phone to watch "Coco Melon" when it's on bingo battery — this is the portable battery for you.

Other than that, the device lets you charge another device simultaneously via cable. There's enough charge to top up the average iPhone twice, and the kickstand is rated to sustain even the mighty iPhone Plus or Pro Max. You're clear to take it on your flight with you and it includes safety features like high-temperature protection and short-circuit safeguards. Grab it from Amazon for $69.99. 

Whether you're making comedy skits or dancing to the latest trend, TikTok is the uncontested home of short-form content — at least until it's banned. However, making a decent TikTok video can be a big production. Many creators spend hours writing scripts, rehearsing, and editing in another app just to put out a single goofy reel. But what do you do if there's a shot you can't manage yourself, and you don't have a friend to film you? That's where Belkin's Auto-Tracking Stand Pro might be able to help.

Setup is easy. All you have to do is put your phone on the MagSafe docking arm, open a video recording app, and press the stand's button. The stand locks on to human faces and then follows them; perfect if you want to keep yourself centered as you move around. The battery lasts for five hours, so you can take this on the go. And if you're just at home, it's a nice little touch since you don't have to bring the included cable with you when you film in another room. When you aren't using it as a silent cameraman, it doubles as a typical bedside MagSafe StandBy mode charger — provided it's plugged in.

There are a few downsides. You'll probably have to take off your case for it to work, and it costs an eye-watering $179.99; if you're just looking for a charging stand, other 3-in-1 options will charge all your devices for less. But if you find yourself frequently filming alone, it does an excellent job for very basic moving shots. Grab it from Belkin here.

In iOS 16, iPhone introduced Continuity Camera. This switches from the not-so-great webcam of your MacBook for the far superior double or triple-lens array on your iPhone. With it, you'll look better than you ever have in a video call. Aside from that, you'll be able to stay centered in frame, or show viewers your desk all without touching your iPhone to enable those settings. Cool stuff. To use it, however, you'd need to jerry-rig a way to get your iPhone to sit on your Mac's incredibly thin, easy-to-hinge screen. The Belkin MagSafe Continuity Camera Mount solves this problem and makes iPhone-enabled video calls on Mac a breeze — even if it does make you wonder whether this was all a ploy by Apple to get you to buy another accessory.

The mount's hook lets you effortlessly clip your iPhone onto the top of a MacBook screen. Then, you enable Continuity Camera in supporting apps, and done. There are a few downsides worth noting. First, your MacBook case might be too thick for the clip to attach right; second, you'll have to keep the screen at a fairly steep angle or it will tip over.

To justify the $29.95 asking price, Belkin's camera mount also includes a grip ring so you can hold your phone without pinky fatigue — or prop it up, using the ring as a kickstand. What's great about this adapter is that it doesn't require you to replace your entire case; you can pop it on easily with your existing MagSafe-compatible one anytime you need to make a call. Snag it from Apple here in black or white.

Traveling with your iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods? When it's time to charge everything at your hotel, it can feel a bit like deciding which kid to feed. You've probably got one charging brick and a single plug-in to work with. The only way to get more is to start unplugging the lamps and TV. You either let some of your devices die, or juggle through them to make sure they all get enough juice to last the day. Make things easier on yourself with Anker's 3-in-1 Cube With MagSafe.

The cube is designed to be small and travel-compact, expanding into three separate charging trays designed for your iPhone, AirPods, and Apple Watch — the latter of which pops out of the side. The iPhone tray tilts by 60 degrees, both letting you use it while charging and freeing up the under-lid tray for your AirPods. You can charge all three at once, and do so at the iPhone's max 15W rating. The top tray supports non-Apple devices, too.

As for downsides, reviews report that you'll have to go case-less to get it to stick, and it's a bit on the heavy side. It's portable, but not really something you can just throw in your pocket like Anker advertises. It's still a great option for travelers, one that serves just fine as a bedside charger between trips. Find it from Anker's online store for $129.99.

It's hard to believe that the headphone jack has been gone from iPhones for almost a decade now. We've long since adapted to AirPods, but many still get a bad taste in their mouth every time they have to use a proprietary Lightning dongle just to fire up the ol' EarPods. For audiophiles — where wired audio is a divine mandate — it would be sacrilege to plug something like the Audeze LCD-5 into a wireless DAC amp to pull AAC from your iPhone. Most audiophiles don't even truck with iPhone's non-headphone-jack tomfoolery; they get a dedicated device that plays offline, lossless files. Thus, the Khadas Tea is an easy, convenient, and incredibly clever use of MagSafe to bring the headphone jack (almost) back where it belongs.

The Tea is a battery-operated digital-to-audio converter (DAC) and headphone amplifier in one. It lets you listen to eight hours of music with Apple Lossless, DSD, and other hi-fi standards, and supports Bluetooth. But if you want the best quality, you'll need to connect it to your phone via the dreaded dongle. Not too bad, considering the unwieldy plug-in is secured directly to the Tea, and your wired headphones go into the far more secure headphone jack. It's arguably the most convenient way to drive a quality pair of cans from a post-jack smartphone.

It's not a budget buy at $149.00 — sometimes dropping to $109.00 on sale — but that's honestly cheap compared to most popular Bluetooth DAC amps on the market. There's not much else we can criticize about the Khadas Tea. If you love — or miss — your wired buds, this is a no-brainer.

We never thought we'd see the day when a smartphone was playing contemporary AAA games, but the iPhone 15 Pro does just that — if not at the best graphics settings and frame rate. Exciting stuff, but there's one big fly in the ointment: The iPhone 15 Pro has a known overheating issue that was never fully resolved with software updates. It's going to be burning up in your hands whether you're playing "Assassin's Creed: Mirage" and "Resident Evil 4," or when running less-demanding titles. Razer's Phone Cooler Chroma could be the solution.

It's just a MagSafe-attached fan on the back of your phone, nothing more, nothing less. In lieu of an active cooling system, it pulls air against your phone's back shell, which is where iPhones disperse the lion's share of their heat. According to some reviewers, it can drop those temps by a cool dozen degrees or so. Not bad at all.

The major downside with this cooling fan is you will need an outlet or a battery to power it. It won't work unless plugged in, which kind of kneecaps the whole "mobile gaming" premise. It's also quite big, and probably won't work with controller adapters like the Backbone One. On the plus side, it does have RGB lighting (for those who care about that sort of thing), and there are cheaper alternatives like the Black Shark Magnetic Cooler. Get the Razer cooler for $59.99 on its site.

The problem with MagSafe compatible cases is they have to be very, very thin for wireless charging (and connected accessories) to work properly. The thicker that material is, the weaker the pull of the magnets will be. Wireless charging is slower and generates more heat, and it's not great for your phone battery. The problem is that a MagSafe-thin case can't do much else without swiftly becoming incompatible with the aforementioned. Peak Design's Everyday Case lets you continue to use everything MagSafe-related (wallets, battery packs, wireless charging) while giving you access to a handful of accessories that attach and detach with ease via proprietary SlimLink technology.

Want to take your phone biking? Attach it with the Out Front Bike Mount. Want a tripod to keep your phone steady for those group shots? Get the Mobile Tripod. SlimLink accessories work without having to replace your case for a MagSafe-incompatible one. And because SlimLink is so easy to use, it takes only a matter of seconds remove any accessory and get back that MagSafe usability.

There is one noteworthy downside here: Since SlimLink is proprietary, you'll have to buy any accessories you want direct from Peak Design. The case costs $49.95 and its accessories aren't cheap. The tripod, as one example, runs for $79.95. Ouch. Reviewers praise the brand for its durability and reliability, but you will be paying out the nose for that privilege. You can get the Everyday Case (and more) at Peak Design.

It's easy to forget how much worse results an average Joe with virtually no photography experience would get just pointing and shooting only 20 years ago, compared to what they get with phone cameras today. The only problem with modern smartphone cameras, aside from the small sensors and poor optical zoom (what really sets DSLR and mirrorless options apart from them) is that they're not always comfortable to shoot with — especially in landscape orientation. Shiftcam's SnapGrip aims to remedy that situation by giving your phone a camera-like grip and a Bluetooth-enabled shutter button.

It won't change anything about the quality of your pictures, but it will certainly make taking them a lot easier in either orientation. Since it's MagSafe, you can snap it to your phone on a whim and change the orientation to fit your mood. It also doubles as a 3,200mAh power bank, a phone stand, and supports a bunch of proprietary accessories like an attachable lighting rig and microphone.

As for downsides, the shutter is Bluetooth-only, so expect a tiny bit of latency between pressing the button and snapping a shot. And if you're looking for a lightweight accessory you can throw in your pocket, this might not be it; the camera grip, especially when attached to your phone, adds a 3,200mAh power bank's worth of bulk that may not make it pocket-friendly. Plus, while the promise of accessories is great, they quickly inflate the price. You'd be spending $200-plus on iPhone camera accessories, so why not just invest a bit more in an actual camera? SnapGrip starts at $69.99. Buy your own from ShiftCam here.

Aulumu's G05 4-in-1 Phone Kickstand with Box Opener is one of those products that sounds almost ridiculous at first glance, but upon closer examination, will be indispensable for the sort of individual who incorporates it into their day-to-day. It's a kickstand so you can prop up your phone, and if you need to cut something — simple things, like boxes — puts a retractable ceramic knife at your disposal. Now, this is a 3mm, spring-loaded blade that's not up to spec for, say, a contractor that spends their day splitting wires. But it comes in handy for cutting the tape on your Amazon packages or opening letters. We'd argue that for something you'll be holding onto all day — and which your kids might grab without warning — the choice for a pinprick of a retractable blade was a good one.

The arm rotates 360 degrees, too, so you can use the blade without detaching it from your phone. That, and it allows you to prop up your phone in landscape or portrait orientation — or use it to grip your phone better. Aside from that, it has a nice cyberpunk aesthetic and comes in at a reasonable $35.98. There's not much to criticize about the accessory. If it's something you'd find useful on a daily basis, get your own from Aulumu.

If you thought a kickstand box cutter MagSafe accessory was on the fringes of weird, then RhinoShield's Aquastand laughs and says, "Hold my beer." It's a MagSafe mount on top of a stainless steel (or Tritan) water bottle. Yes, you heard that right. The first thought most people have is why anyone would need such a thing, but gym rats will see an immediate use case: keeping their phones off sweat-stained gym benches and seats. You've probably got a water bottle with your protein shake anyway, so why not have it hold your phone? The last thing you want is for it to get crushed in your pocket when you set dumbbells on your thighs to during a bench press, among other things.

Beyond being a glorified phone holder, the water bottle proves to be a fairly sturdy base. It could serve as an impromptu tripod for filming your sets, or to hold your phone from the cup holder while you watch YouTube on the treadmill. Outside of the gym, there are likely tons of creative ways people could put it to good use. Who knows, maybe you're out with the fam and it'll come in handy for taking a group picture.

Ironically, the primary complaint users seem to have with the Aquastand has nothing to do with the mounting function, it's with the lid. Apparently, it doesn't open far enough, so you'll probably feel it touching your forehead whenever you go for a drink. The smallest 480-milliliter bottle starts at $44.99 on Rhinoshield's site.