Accessories

So you bought a new iPhone 7 or 7 Plus. Without a headphone jack, you’re going to need some awesome accessories for that iPhone 7. Luckily, companies have gotten creative to satisfy user complaints. These are some of the best iPhone 7 and 7 Plus accessories and gear you’ll find on the market right now. We’ve got solutions for charging your iPhone 7 while listening to music, plus suggestions for wireless headphones and a way to make sure you don’t lose those expensive Airpods. Here’s the best iPhone 7 and 7 Plus accessories you need in your life.

We all want to keep our iPhones protected. Though the iPhone has gotten stronger over the years, it’s far from indestructible. Getting the toughest, protective case for your iPhone 6s or 6s Plus is a good idea, especially if you lead a rugged life. We’re looking at waterproof, drop-proof, and shock-proof cases. Only the strongest, most durable will do. Whether you’re planning to hit the slopes this Winter or you simply have a toddler, these heavy-duty iPhone cases will protect your iPhone from mishaps and the elements. Here’s the best protective cases for iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.

When you have an iPad, knowing a few keyboard shortcuts for your external keyboard is essential. Unless you enjoy touching the screen every two seconds, keyboard shortcuts are great for completing common tasks in a second. This tip will focus on two. Once you’ve used them a few times, they’ll become habit. Here’s how to Spotlight search and return to Home screen with keyboard shortcuts on iPad.

If you use a keyboard on your iPad or iPhone, keyboard shortcuts are a fantastic way to easily get around. Instead of constantly touching the screen, you can use keyboard shortcuts to quickly complete actions. This tip focuses on using keyboard shortcuts to browse through the Mail app and Safari. Here’s how to browse using keyboard shortcuts on your iPad.

The biggest gripes about the Apple Watch are that it's too bulky for exercise, it's expensive, and the battery life is poor. I would add that accessing your heart rate takes longer than it should.  Enter the A360 Fitness tracker ($199.95) from Polar. These folks have been making "wearables" since 1977, specializing in heart rate chest strap devices. In fact, the A360 bracelet can link up with Polar's H7 chest strap to get a more accurate measurement of your heart rate. This makes it one of the best fitness trackers for hardcore athletes.

Like a turtle, I love to carry my home on my back. If I can depend on a single backpack to organize and carry everything I need, whether for the day or a week, I’m immensely impressed. I’ve used backpacks in the past with pockets for laptops and side pockets for water bottles, but I didn’t realize it could get so much better. The Haven backpack by STM ($99.95) is encapsulated by the name. The designers of this tech bag thought of everything.

There are so many different fitness and activity trackers on the market now, and most of them track similar metrics like steps and calories burned. Spire ($149.95) caught my attention by providing a more well-rounded picture of health that tracks when you’re calm and focus based on your breathing. As important as exercise is to health, I think stress does even more damage than lack of movement. Spire helps you track both and uses the Spire app to bring you back into calm with short meditations you can even do at work.

Happy Earth Day! At its Spring Event, Apple covered all the ways in which it’s helping the environment. Apple’s goal is to run all of its operations on 100 percent renewable energy, and it’s a goal the rest of the world needs to take more seriously as well. When it comes to a getting a case for our iPhone, there are often other factors we consider like protection and functionality. So here’s some of the best cases that deliver both on features and eco-friendliness.

Each year in celebration of Earth Day, we present awards recognizing the most earth-friendly mobile tech companies. Following in the carbon footprints of Apple Inc., (perhaps one of the most ecologically conscientious companies on the planet) these three brands have all raised the bar when it comes to making sustainability, recycling, and conservation top priorities.

This year, Mother’s Day falls on May 8. That means it’s time to buy a gift and plan for flowers. I don’t care who you are, your mom waddled around for nine months and gained a tiger’s skin worth of stretch marks (or went through a strenuous adoption process) — the least you can do is get her a gift to show your appreciation. Even if your mom isn’t a tech pro, there are plenty of tech items she would love and get a lot of wonderful use out of. Here’s awesome Mother’s day gifts for the tech mom in your life.

It's not easy being an App Developer. Every time Apple releases a new version of iOS or one of their own apps, there is the concern that it could replace an app that a developer has been working on for months or years. It can be even more challenging to be an accessory maker for Apple. When the Apple Watch first came out, savvy users discovered a secret "port" behind the watch band connector that allowed for diagnostics but could also be a way to power the watch.

I'm enjoying making my home smarter via Apple HomeKit-compatible devices. So far I've written about iHome's SmartPlug ($39.99), which lets you set up an on/off schedule as well as control an appliance remotely, and Elgato's Eve Room ($79.95), which lets you monitor volatile organic compounds in the air in a room, as well as humidity and temperature. In this post I'll cover a handy gadget from Elgato that lets you monitor how much electricity an appliance is using: Eve Energy ($49.95). Elgato has also given me Eve Weather and Eve Door & Window and I'll cover those HomeKit devices in future posts.

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