Owning a smartphone today has become a necessity, just about everyone you see today has one and the number is going to only rise in the future. Not surprisingly with a rising demand, the lifespan of a smartphone today is shorter than ever before, which means people are more inclined to pick up a new device just because the previous one does not cut it any longer, they damaged the previous one or they just want to try something new. As a result, we all end up changing or swapping our smartphone more often than it is needed. One of the ways of increasing the lifespan of your smartphone or to keep it spankingly new and interesting is by investing in accessories.
Despite being a bit of a compulsive phone changer, I always stick to my iPhones for a good two year period. The reason being, with a plethora of accessories around me, I can always decide to make my phone look absolutely different and brand new. An accessory well done not only adds that freshness of a new gadget to your device, but also protects it so that there is no lasting damage on the hardware. So, what are these accessories and which ones should you invest in when you pick up a smartphone? Here are our pick of the five must haves.
A good screen protector
Despite most of the smartphones coming with scratch resistant displays such as those with Gorilla Glass 3 etc, it is a good idea to invest in a good screen protector. See if you can pick up a protector with good oleophobic coating or even a tempered glass protector. While the latter can be expensive, they are definitely better in the long run as they are more durable and maintain the feel of the device when it comes to regular tasks such as scrolling which requires prolonged gliding of fingers. Tempered glass feels a lot more natural than plastic guards and also maintain the transparency of the display. However, the only downside of this is with devices such as iPhone 5s where the display is not recessed, the glass adds a sizeable amount of thickness of about .5 mm. So if you can live with them, definitely get a tempered glass protector for your phone, if not, at least get a plastic one from a good manufacturer like SGP or Wrapsol or even Moshi.
A good back case with all round protection
A case goes a long way to define the look of your smartphone. I personally prefer cases that are light yet cover the sides of the phones well and give a bit of clearance between the camera lens and a surface when the phone is lying backside down. Usually the Slim Armour series from Spigen, Bugdroid series, rock flip case series are a good pick. Most of the manufacturers today have proprietary cases too such as HTC has the dot view, or the bumper case that LG offers with the Nexus 5 or even the official iPhone 5s case series. While most of these can be a bit pricy, they usually offer fine protection and especially in devices with chamfered edges like the HTC M8 or the iPhone 5s, you really do need a good case, and these fit the bill best. Given cases are available in plenty of colors and designs, having a few cases would help your phone feel fresh and keep it glittering, making sure you fall in love all over again with it.
A good pair of headphones
Most of us use our smartphones as our portable music players. And while it is perfectly possible that the speakers on your phone are adequate for a good multimedia experience given you own one of HTC M8 or LG G3, there is a fat possibility that your smartphone has one of those poorly designed rear speakers which end up muffing all the audio output the moment you put the phone on a soft surface like a bed. In this situation or even otherwise, it is a good idea to invest in a good headphone. Obviously taste in audio is a totally personal thing so we cannot sit and dictate what you must pick as that totally depends on your budget but do look around for a good pair of headphone. Currently we are rocking the ATH M50s, ATH ANC23 and Bose QC20i and we love them all equally. A good headphone is a one time investment and your multimedia experience will be enhanced multifold. Also see if you would like to invest in a good Amp and or DAC if your budget allows as it takes the audio performance to another level.
A wireless charger
Most of the phones today support wireless charging either out of the box or with the help of an external accessory such as a back plate. If your phone does, you must definitely consider picking up a wireless charger as it makes charging your device a fair bit easy. You no longer have to search the charging port and push the connector in it and can simply place your phone on the pad and pick and use it like it is a table. You can find out our recommended set of wireless chargers right here.
A desk docking station
Depending on how you use your device, you should pick up a desk docking station. If you are into listening to music a lot, some of the docking stations from Bose or JBL are definitely worth the investment as they make the whole experience of listening to music all that much better and also charge your phone simultaneously. If you are not into music, we still recommend picking up a desk dock as it makes sure your device is not lying flat on its back when resting on the table. There are a couple of advantages of this. The first being, easy visibility of the notifications while you are working on your table as you do not have to keep on picking up the phone continuously, while the second is that it makes sure the dust from the desk does not come in contact with the camera module of your device if that is protruding out.
So, those were some of our recommendation of accessories that you must invest in for your smartphone. Which one is most important for you? Let us know in the section below.
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