With smartphones getting more and more of essentials in our day-to-day lives, well-equipped sets of of accessories are paramount. In this blog, we’ll present these smartphone gadgets from our list. Shall we?!
1 – Bluetooth speakers
Not so long ago, I made a list of 14 must-have smartphone accessories for summer and these were topping the list already… Who doesn’t like to enjoy some music on the go while camping or simply having a picnic in the park? Paired with a bluetooth speaker, your smartphone becomes an actual portable music stand to entertain anywhere… anytime!
Over the recent years, these have fairly democratized and t’s not about a Bose-only field anymore. There are now many devices in different price ranges… Check out Bose for the hight price bracket, or JBL for some fairly accessible price with respectable sound quality.
2 – Tripods
With the development of vlogging, smartphone photography and video calls, tripods are coming more handy these days as smartphone gadgets.
Why use a tripod as a smartphone gadget?
They optimize stability for your memorable shots, allow to work with certain features on your phone such as shutter speeds and they open up the possibilities for framing composition…
What are the different types of smartphone tripods?
Usually, tripods come in 3 categories: height-adjustable, flexible and tabletop/mini.
- Height-adjustable tripods are very common and is often considered as the most versatile. In that sense, it can be viewed as as absolute essential accessory for smartphone users. It’s typically heavier, which gives it enhanced stability, and usually has telescoping, rigid legs. On some advanced models, you will find a hook at the bottom of the centre column… That allows for adding weight on the gravity centre for further stability.
- Flexible tripods are lightweight, compact and… well, flexible! Their legs are made of rubber material that allows them to wrap around tubular surface such as pipes, but they can also be spread straight with the tripod just put standing on flat surfaces. So, in a sense, these are as (if not even more) versatile tools as the height-adjustable tripods… But the caveat is that they won’t typically bear much weight and can be quite unstable when not firmly hooked up.
- Tabletop (aka mini) tripods are (as stated in the name) more compact, easy to carry. They can have flexible or rigid legs and, outside of the desktop or the kitchen table top, they will quickly find there limits in terms of stability, for example on uneven surface.
3 – Bluetooth Earbuds
For a while, I was reluctant to use in-ear device for anything else than making the occasional phone call while in some noisy environment (you, those white, wired buds that you’d get with your old Iphone)… Well, gone are those days, right?! First, because there are no Jack input on Iphone anymore. Second, because… this damn wire! Cannot move without striping the ear bud out… Go on listening a podcast on your daily walk or your running playlist with those… Good luck! So… Bluetooth earbuds…
What are common features of bluetooth earbuds?
Like anything bluetooth, earbuds have democratized fairly over the last few years and it’s not just about some $300 Apple gadget anymore! They provide great sound quality and even noise reduction is pretty standard now. They are usually water-resistant which allow them to be used while exercising. The most advanced advanced ones support voice assistant technologies like Alexa.
4 – Wireless Charging stations
That’s a fact, a single individual now owns multiple electronic devices such as phones, tablet, watch, earbuds… Each of which needs to be charged now and then. Wireless charging stations make this a breeze as they allow for several devices to be charged at the same time, in the same location. Your device still needs to be compatible though, but everything released within the last 4 years should be compatible with wireless charging… and ultimately with fast wireless charging… So, why not?
5 – Smartwatches
Over the last few years, smartwatches have become the most popular smartphone gadget. They can be viewed as actual extensions of your phone which provide access to enhanced benefits. They combine connectivity add-ons for our phones as well as fitness and health benefits. Plus, they are… well… Watches.
Why use a smartwatch as a smartphone gadget?
On top of giving a sense of time and allowing for timing up activities, smartwatches present noticeable advantages such as messaging notification (so many times, I’ve missed phone calls or messages because I was too far from my phone ear it ringing). While paired to your phone, a smartwatch can notify you when you receive an e-mail, a text message or a call! You can actually set it up to get notifications from different apps.
Smartwatches also provide the opportunity of keeping an eye on your health with water intake monitoring and heart rate monitoring or oxygen saturation rate (some devices take it one step further with blood pressure monitoring). These can provide continuous insight on your health that doctors could use to provide actionable care. Overall, they can help in keeping an accurate track-record of one’s health!
Paired with health advantages, the core features of smartwatches is tracking fitness activities and helping you reach your goals. Most devices today offer a pedometer and calorie tracker. They can be set to track how much distance you travel on foot at any given time. They can also act as incentive… As a matter of fact, it has been reported that 57 percent of smartwatch owner started exercising more after they purchased a smartwatch! Most smartwatches can actually remind users to exercise at certain times throughout the day.
6 – Magnetic car phone holders
When you’re driving and relying on your phone to show you the way… You need stability. Haven’t you gone through that before? Driving in some unknown location, waiting for the next turn and… your suction-cup, clamp phone holder just drops off and leaves there, almost blind-sighed on the road…
As certainly as the sun rises East every morning, this smartphone gadget will provide the certainty that your phone will stay in place while guiding you on the road using magnets. Most of them will require you to attach some tin plate on the back of your phone, but there are devices now that will catch the back of your phone directly, without any add-ons.
Can you use wireless charging with magnetic car phone holder?
Some magnetic car phone holders, like the Iottie Easy One Touch Wireless 2 offer wireless charger.
7 – Pocket video projector
Video projector have been around for a long time… But fewer are as portable as the Prima 1080P Pocket Projector! This pocket size smartphone gadget can provide a screen project of up to 200 inches and offers 1080p resolution. It can cast multimedia contents from phones, tablet, computers and more via WiFi or Bluetooth. It also features multiple ports, has DLP technology which allows for projection in various environments, and holds up to 3 days of internal battery.
8 – Bluetooth Stylus
Sometimes, when interacting with your smartphone or tablet, you need to be precise… Or maybe you want to take hand-written notes! In these instances, you need this specific smartphone gadget: the Adonit Snap 2 stylus. This device was specifically made for Iphone users but is compatible with any smartphone. It combines a very precise stylus with a bluetooth camera remote. Furthermore, the camera remote can be set to take single shot and in series. Generally speaking, it’s very lightweight and compact, has a magnet to stick to the device’s envelope and a led battery indicator… Pretty cool!
Wrapping up
Smartphone accessories are really coming up more and more accessible today with the developments in wireless technologies such as Bluetooth and that allows for more democratization and easier access. Plus most devices on the market today are not brand-specific and can be used with different devices. That’s it for our selection of smartphone accessories! Hope you enjoyed reading!
