The Best iPhone 13 Accessories You Can Buy Right Now

The Best iPhone 13 Accessories You Can Buy Right Now

If you’re eagerly waiting to preorder an iPhone 13/Mini/Pro/Pro Max on Friday, you’re also probably looking to accessorize your new device with a protective case, a way to bring your physical cards long, or a bit of extra power to get through the day (despite Apple’s claims of lengthier battery life, better safe than powerless).

With every iPhone announcement comes an avalanche of new accessories that promise to improve, protect, or customise Apple’s smartphone, and we’ve sorted through them all to find the best options for your new toy.

Nomad iPhone 13 Sport Case With NFC

Gif: Nomad
Gif: Nomad

There are more reasons to wrap your iPhone in a case than just protection. Nomad is known for its luxurious horween leather cases that look better and better as they get dinged up over time, but the company’s new iPhone 13 Sport Case ($55) trades leather for rugged plastics that promise to fend off the effects of gravity from drops as high as six feet. The Sport Case’s most interesting feature, however, is a built-in NFC chip at the bottom that can be used as digital business card, wirelessly sharing your contact info to others with a simple tap.

Casetify Impact Crush Case

Image: Casetify
Image: Casetify

Apple’s efforts to recycle old iPhones and use the reclaimed materials to make new iPhones takes some of the guilt out of upgrading your device year after year (though it’s not an entirely guilt-free upgrade), and now case makers are starting to follow Apple’s lead. The Casetify Impact Crush case ($70-90) depending on which iPhone 13 you’re using it on) is made from “a proprietary blend of plant-based bioplastic” that’s made up of 65% recycled material sourced from old, unwanted iPhone cases. Available in four exotically named colour options (Mollusc Purple, Vapour Blue, Coral White and Seaweed Black) and two transparent options, the case is also MagSafe friendly and promises to protect your new investment from drops as high as 2.01 m.

iPhone Leather Wallet with MagSafe

Image: Apple
Image: Apple

Modern smartphone users have been able to ditch credit and debit cards using digital wallets and wireless NFC functionality, but for the other bits of plastic you carry around all day — IDs, health insurance, membership cards, etc. — Apple’s Leather Wallet with MagSafe lets them piggyback on the phone you never leave the house without. With the iPhone 13 series comes a new version of the wallet ($89) that makes it slightly easier to locate if it ever goes missing. Using MagSafe, the iPhone will actually remember the time and location the wallet was last disconnected from the phone, increasing the odds of locating it should it go missing.

Incipio Grip for MagSafe Case

Image: Incipio
Image: Incipio

There’s nothing more heartbreaking than accidentally dropping a fancy new device you’ve spent hundreds of dollars on and watching its screen transform into thousands of tiny pieces of glass. Modern smartphones and butterfingers don’t mix well, so in addition to providing protection from drops as high as 4.27 m thanks to integrated “Impact Struts,” Incipio’s Grip for MagSafe ($70) cases feature multi-directional grips built into the edges of the case, all the way around, to make your device easier to hold onto. The design hopefully means you’ll never actually have to test the case’s impressive drop protection.

CLCKR Stand and Grip Case

Image: CLCKR
Image: CLCKR

Have you secretly wished your smartphone had a fold-out kickstand like the Nintendo Switch — except you’d actually want to use it? The CLCKR Stand and Grip Case ($50) will finally make that wish come true with a fold-0ut stand that can support the iPhone 13 in portrait, landscape, and what the company calls an “angled conference call mode. It also doubles as a smartphone grip so you don’t have to resort to attaching a PopSocket to your device. When not in use it folds flat, adding a minimal amount of thickness to your phone.

Nomad Modern Leather Folio

Image: Nomad
Image: Nomad

You wouldn’t wear a cheap Old Navy jacket over a $6,000 suit, so why would you wrap a $1,500+ smartphone in a $30 case? The iPhone 13 deserves better, and that’s exactly what Nomad’s Modern Leather Folio ($110) delivers. It not only provides ample protection for your device, including a folding cover with slots and pockets for cards and cash, it’s also finished in horween leather that looks great, feels great, and over time develops a unique patina. It’s definitely not cheap, but Nomad also includes a ring of nickel-plated neodymium magnets embedded in the case that increases the iPhone’s holding power of MagSafe accessories.

Urban Armour Gear Monarch Series Case

Image: Urban Armour Gear
Image: Urban Armour Gear

If you prioritise protection over aesthetics, or are just really into the “tacticool” phenomenon that makes your phone look like a tool designed for soldiers in special forces, the Urban Armour Gear Monarch Series iPhone 13 case ($82) has you covered on both fronts. The case uses five layers of protection, including an armour frame, a shock-resistant core, alloy metals, and a rubber bumper to protect an iPhone from drops as high as 6.10 m. So if you’re leaning out a second story window and happen to fumble your phone, you can rest assured it will be waiting on the ground for you in one piece.

Catalyst Neon-Glow-in-the-Dark Influence Case

Image: Catalyst
Image: Catalyst

Do you struggle to find your phone in the middle of the night when the lights are off and you’re having a hard time falling asleep? The iPhone 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max versions of Catalyst’s Influence Case ($70) include a useful feature that will also appeal to children of the ‘80s: a neon green finish that actually glows in the dark so it’s easier to locate. The case also boasts a frosted back that helps hide greasy fingerprints, drop protection from a height of up to 10 feet, and a design that promises to make the device’s speaker sound 30% louder than it does on a naked iPhone.

Totallee Super Thin Case

Image: Totallee
Image: Totallee

Looking for the protection of a case without the added bulk of one? Totallee claims its Super Thin case ($55) is currently “the world’s thinnest iPhone 13 case.” It adds just 0.02 inches to the thickness of the iPhone 13 if you opt for the version with a matte finish over the completely transparent option which adds 0.04 inches. It’s incredibly lightweight, too, and devoid of any corporate branding so it looks almost invisible. While it’s not the most durable case option available, it will help protect your precious investment from nicks, scratches, and the occasional short fall.

Mujjo Full Leather Wallet Case

Image: Mujjo
Image: Mujjo

Being able to find the last place your lost Apple MagSafe wallet was separated from your iPhone is a clever feature, but it’s nearly impossible to lose your wallet and your important cards when they’re permanently attached to your smartphone’s case. That’s the approach Mujjo is taking with its Full Leather Wallet Case ($70) that wraps your new phone, including the volume and lock button, in full-grain vegetable tanned leather. Stitched to the back is a wallet pocket that can hold two or three cards. In addition to a tan or black finish, the leather case can also be had in a striking Monaco Blue option.

Apple Silicone Case with MagSafe

Image: Apple
Image: Apple

Many early adopters will be ordering their iPhone 13 of choice directly from Apple, so why pay additional shipping and order a case from another online retailer when Apple’s Silicone Case with MagSafe ($70) probably provides more than ample protection for your needs? It’s also available in a selection of eight different colours, and if any case is going to fit your iPhone 13 perfectly, it’s going to be one made by Apple, right?

Twelve South BookBook vol. 2 for iPhone

Image: Twelve South
Image: Twelve South

If minimalism simply isn’t your thing, Twelve South has recently updated its curiously popular BookBook smartphone case to volume two ($96), as they call it, which now officially supports MagSafe charging and magnetic accessories. If you’re not familiar with the BookBook’s schtick, it’s a folio case with a thick spine designed to make your svelte smartphone look like a thick leather bound book. It’s not cheap, but it includes lots of additional functionality, including card slots, a magnetic clasp that keeps the cover securely closed, and the flexibility to use the case as a stand to hold your iPhone up in landscape mode. It might also fool people into thinking you’re actually reading a book, when all you’re really doing is silently judging your friends’ baby photos.