The smartphone industry is evolving and so is the accessory market. A few years ago, when you get a new smartphone, you will have most of the accessories you need in the box. However, as of 2021, we are at the point where you will get just the phone unit. If there is anything else in the box, it should be the user guide. Most manufacturers no longer include a phone case or an earpiece in the box. In fact, with the current trend, we may soon have to treat charger heads as an accessory. The likes of the iPhone 12 series, Xiaomi Mi 11, Samsung Galaxy S21 series no longer have chargers in the box.
The choice of a smartphone accessory really depends on the user. What an image or video freak will prefer is different from what a music lover will desire. In fact, heavy-duty users or those who are really careless with a smartphone will need a different accessory. The good thing is, whatever class of user you belong to, there is something for you. So, what are the top 6 most important accessories for our 2021 smartphones?
Here is our list:
A portable Powerbank
Your phone is useless if the battery is dead. This is why technically everybody needs a power bank. For those in countries with a steady power supply, it becomes handy on the go. However, for those in a developing or an underdeveloped region, you probably need a power bank for everyday use.
We agree that some smartphones have up to 5000 mAh batteries which are really large. Nevertheless, imaging going on a 14-hour train trip with your phone as your only companion. Streaming will consume so much battery, gaming will even take more, and so on. Of course, in such a scenario, a power bank for extra power becomes very important.
Thankfully, this is 2021 and we have a plethora of powerbanks in the market. Most of these powerbanks have a capacity of over 10,000 mAh. They are portable and can seamlessly fit into your pocket or purse. In fact, you can even get a portable 20,000 mAh powerbank. Interestingly, the average weight of a 10,000 powerbank is about 180g. This is about the weight of many smartphones in the market. Thus, even if you have a 4000 mAh battery which is the present acceptable battery size in the Android world, you are sure that your 10,000 mAh powerbank will give you at least two times more power.
In terms of price, powerbanks sell for between $5 to $50. However, you also have some heavy-duty powerbanks for laptops and smartphones which could cost up to $150. Their capacity is between 25,000 mAh to 50,000 mAh and they are NOT portable in any way. The weight could be as high as 900 g (weight of a laptop)
A Phone Case
Our phones are becoming much more expensive and obviously need more protection. In addition, many flagships and even mid-range smartphones now come with fragile build materials. Many flagship smartphones in the market use a glass rear. The entire body of the phone could be glass except for the side that could be aluminum. While this build material (glass) gives the phone a premium appearance, it makes it more fragile. Although some manufacturers use the Corning Gorilla Glass this does not guarantee absolute protection against falls. Nobody will love to have a $1000 phone with a cracked rear within a few months. This is why a phone case is very important.
A phone case gives the device the extra protection that it needs against falls. Also, you will not be too careful about the surface that you drop your phone. Thus, if you are rough with smartphones, you really need a phone case otherwise, your phone will lose its premium look in a few months.
Furthermore, it might be necessary to get a waterproof case in case of a beach holiday and similar activities. However, this may not be a case for everyday use and obviously not as important as the regular phone case. The good thing is that phone cases are not really expensive. They could be as chip as $2 and as expensive as $50. It all depends on what the user wants. For a better appearance of your phone, you may want to own between 2 to 4 cases.
Screen Protector
Some people say a screen protector reduces the touch sensitivity of the touch screen and others say it gives the phone an ugly look. Nevertheless, you may reconsider your decision of not getting a screen guard after realizing that the display is one of the most important components of a phone. Presently, you will spend over $300 to replace the screen of an iPhone 11 Pro Max. As for the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra, you will spend no less than $250 for screen replacement. You will agree that these monies can buy you a good mid-range 5G smartphone from the likes of Xiaomi.
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Even for cheaper Chinese phones like the Xiaomi Mi 10, you will not spend less than $150 for a screen replacement. Either way, you may spend up to 20% of the original cost of the phone just to fix the screen. So, why not use a good and official screen guard for that extra protection? Interestingly, this is also not an expensive accessory. Ordinarily, it costs between $1 to $10.
However, you may want to avoid third-party screen protectors, especially for flagship smartphones. Even at official channels, screen protectors never really exceed $20. The screen protector does not only protect the display against falls, but it also comes in handy against scratches. You will agree with me that scratches can make your phone display really ugly.
Just like the phone case, this is another very important accessory for users who are really rough with a phone. If you are a careful user like me, then you may not need a phone case or a screen guard.
Headphones / Earpiece
Music and video lovers would have been wondering where their favorite accessory is on the list. Well, we didn’t forget you guys and your favorite accessory is right here. Since you will most likely not get an earpiece in the box of a smartphone, you need to get one. Whether you choose to go for wired or Bluetooth, it will do the job. In all honesty, even if you do not love music or videos, you may still want to have an earpiece handy. It’s important for multitasking (taking a call and doing chores). In the face of the preponderance of videoconferencing, headphones are really important accessories.
In terms of pricing, it strictly depends on what you need. For an average smartphone earpiece, it could be as cheap as $20. Amazingly, it could also be as expensive as $200. Of course, there are premium headsets that cost thousands of dollars.
Selfie stick
For many users, especially those that love capturing the moment, selfie sticks are really very important smartphone accessories. You can be stretching your arms all the time just to take a landscape selfie. Selfie sticks are not really popular anymore but they are still useful for many users. Unfortunately, some users do not really realize that they need a selfie stick. A selfie stick with a stretch-out length of up to 36 inches and retract length of 7 inches is pretty good. It can easily fit into a purse and maybe a pocket. There are so many factors to consider when getting a selfie stick. You have to consider its compatibility with your smartphone. In terms of price, you can get a selfie stick for between $10 to $100. It depends on your choice of gadget.
Extra camera lenses
A few years ago, this would have been one of the most important smartphone accessories that image/video lovers will need. However, that’s not the case anymore. Smartphone cameras now have technically all you need. They have telephoto sensors, depth, macro, and even ultra-wide-angle sensors. In terms of the pixels, smartphones now have u to 108MP which is probably an overkill. However, if your smartphone is not a recent flagship, you may not have access (2020) to some of these features. Thus, to get a good photograph, you may need a .36X wide-angle lens that allows you to take panoramic shots and a 25X macro lens for capturing the fine details, etc.
For this, we will recommend that you look at the likes of ZEISS, it remains one of the best. Nevertheless, this is probably the least-important smartphone accessories on this list. For many, it shouldn’t even make the list.
Conclusion
There are many other smartphone accessories like charger heads, charging cable, SD Card, phone stands, etc that could make the list. However, we consider this list as the “most important” except for the last item (extra camera lenses) which is not really important in 2021. Which of these smartphone accessories is most important for you? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
