5 Tips for Buying the Right Apple Accessories

Always Buy From Reputable Sellers

Buying accessories can be tricky. Sometimes, we just click on the first thing we find on Amazon or another online store. However, that might not always be the best choice.

Remember that people can buy ad spaces to appear at the top of any list. Moreover, if they know how to optimize their products for search, they’re more likely to appear at the top of your results.

However, that doesn’t mean that’s the best product for you, especially if you don’t know the company.

When you’re starting out, it’s best to buy accessories from trusted companies that have been around for a while. This isn’t a comprehensive list by any means, but here are a few companies you can safely buy products from that will help you get started:

• Anker
• Aukey
• Belkin
• Bose
• ESR
• Jabra
• Nomad
• Sony
• Speck
• Spigen
• Twelve South

Of course, there are many more companies out there that have earned the trust of thousands of customers, so you need to do your own research. 

And it goes without saying, but just because it is a reputable company doesn’t mean the product they’re selling is worth your time and money, which is why you also need to see what people are saying about the accessory you want.

Check Reviews Before Buying

Most, if not all, big online stores have a scoring system that buyers can use to let others know what they think about a specific product or company.

It’s important to check these reviews before buying any accessory to make sure what you’re buying is a legitimate product that works as intended.

You should read carefully to make sure the review is for the specific product you’re considering; some online stores combine the reviews for several different versions of a product into a single list. In the case of Amazon, you can find these details at the top of each review, and you can also check for a “Verified Purchase” tag there to make sure the review is coming from someone who actually bought the product before writing a review on it.

Of course, you should also take these reviews with a grain of salt. Some people will blindly praise or criticize a company without even buying or using a product. It’s best to focus on those three-star reviews because they tend to be a bit impartial and tell you the good and the bad things about the product.

High-Quality Products Aren’t Cheap

Unfortunately, unless what you’re trying to buy is on sale, you’ll probably have to spend more money to get a quality product.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that you should just buy the most expensive accessories. However, as a rule, products from reputable companies that sell for slightly higher prices typically last longer and provide better quality.

Where you should always go for quality are chargers and charging cables. These accessories can make or break your iPhone, so it’s important to choose a solid option. Poor-quality chargers can damage your iPhone’s battery life, and in some extreme cases, they could even cause a fire.

For other stuff like cases, pop-sockets, or similar accessories, you can choose a more affordable option, but be sure to check what people think about the product before buying it, and if you’re looking for a protective case, it’s a good idea to do a bit of research and see how rugged it really is.

Choose ‘MFi’ Products

If you don’t know which products to get, you can always search for products that have Apple’s Made for iPhone (MFi) certification.

This is a program that Apple has created to help third-party companies guarantee their products will be compatible with your iPhone.

This means that Apple accepts the quality and performance of the product the company is trying to sell, effectively certifying that an accessory is okay for you to use.

So, if you don’t want to risk wasting your money, you can search for the MFi certification. Of course, this usually means these products might be a bit more expensive, as the manufacturers have to pay licensing fees to Apple in some cases, but they could still be worth it in the long run.

Just keep in mind that not every product needs to be MFi-certified to work with your iPhone. There are other standards bodies that cover things like USB-C and Qi or Qi2 wireless chargers. Apple certifies accessories that use its proprietary technologies like Lightning and MagSafe, but anything that plugs into a USB-C port or provides wireless charging power already needs to be certified by other industry groups such as the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) or the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC), so there’s nothing Apple can really add to that.

In other words, if you’re rocking an iPhone 15, any USB-C-certified charger and cable will do. Owners of older iPhone models should stick to MFi-certified Lightning to USB cables, but any USB-certified power brick is fine to plug in on the other end. Ditto for MagSafe; now that the Qi2 standard has arrived, you can save a lot of money by opting for a Qi2 charger.

If You Don’t Want Issues, Choose Apple Accessories

If searching for and choosing the right accessory is not for you, then you might be better off just buying first-party accessories.

With Apple products, you can rest assured that they have the right quality to match your iPhone and that you can always reach out to Apple if the accessory doesn’t work. For iPad owners, AppleCare+ will even cover an Apple Pencil or Apple-branded iPad keyboard.

Of course, you might not want to just buy Apple accessories, as the company tends to overprice most of its products. For instance, the infamous polishing cloth from Apple will cost you $19, which is more than most of us are willing to pay.