Welcome to the wonderful world of Android! We hope you greatly enjoy your new phone and the new ecosystem around it. If this is your first time on our side of the Apple/Google divide, there are a few items out there you’ll probably want to consider picking up for your new phone. From headphones to use for listening to chargers and cables to keep your phone alive on those rotten days that just will not end, you can upgrade your Android experience with these accessories.
Pop culture phone savers
Swappable PopSockets
Staff pick
PopSockets are part fidget toy, part phone grip, and part pop culture phenomena. If your big new phone is harder to use one-handed, you’ll want a PopGrip on the back so you can easily reach the top of the screen. There’s even cool licensed designs like Baby Yoda!
$10 at PopSockets
Tiniest wall charger
Aukey PA-Y18 18W USB-C Wall Charger
18W chargers don’t get much smaller than this, and for topping off my phones, power banks, or headphones in a hurry, the Aukey PA-Y18 really is the best around. I carry this charger in my front pants pocket when I don’t haul around a power bank, and it’ll fit into crowded outlets easily.
$15 at Amazon
Travel-ready cable
Anker Powerline+ C to C 2.0 Cable
Anker’s cables are durable as all get out, come in two sizes and colors — I’m partial to the candy apple red, but gray goes with everything — and even come with a carrying wrap that uses velcro and magnets to keep things tidy while you’re on the go.
$14 at Amazon
Best watch for Android users
Samsung GalaxyWatch Active 2
Samsung managed to pack in multi-day battery life, wireless payments, and great fitness features like automatic workout and heart-rate tracking into a lithe casing that you’ll actually want to wear on your wrist. There’s two sizes and three color options to choose from.
$230 at Amazon
Ready to rock
Urbanears Pampas
These lovely looking fabric over-the-ear headphones charge over USB-C so you can use that same cables and chargers as your Android phone. They offer a premium sound without costing an arm and a leg the way most USB-C-charged Bluetooth headphones do.
$126 at Amazon
Magnetic magic
Aukey Key Series B60 Magnetic Switch Wireless Earbuds
These earbuds also charge over USB-C, and while they’re not True Wireless earbuds, I’m fine with that because that means I can’t accidentally lose one when I’m snaking through 20,000 people at Hollywood Studios. The B60s also have some newer, brighter color options.
$60 at Amazon
Old school nerdiness
Plinrise Dinosaur Phone Stand
Available in a dozen colors, this prehistoric phone stand can prop up your new phone while working in the office, eating dinner in the kitchen, or anywhere else. Plinrise also sells stands in other fun animal shapes like puppies, kitties, birdies, and the ever ferocious T-Rex!
$10 at Amazon
Go wireless
Anker PowerWave 15
No matter what Android phone you have, this Qi charging pad should charge it at its top wireless speed, including the Pixel 4 with its somewhat picky tastes in Qi fast chargers. If you live in a mixed ecosystem household, this pad will also quick charge iPhones, too.
$42 at Amazon
No outlet? No problem
Aukey 10,000mAh Battery Pack
While the 18W wall charger is awesome, it won’t do you any good when you don’t have an outlet around to run it off, which is why Aukey also makes a power bank that perfectly balances size, weight, capacity, and price. 10,000mAh will recharge your phone to full twice on one charge.
$30 at Amazon
Latest in Qi car chargers
iOttie Easy One Touch Wireless 2
Like the Anker PowerWave 15, this is one of the few car chargers out there to wirelessly fast charge the Pixel 4 as well as it charges every other Qi-enabled phone. I prefer the air vent mounting system because AC keeps things cool, but a dash mount is also available.
$50 at Amazon
Best mount for car-hoppers
Meidi Magnetic Air Vent Car Mount
Magnetic mounts are some of the smallest, easiest-to-transfer mounts on the market and they’re perfect for frequent fliers to use in their rental cars. If your phone doesn’t have Qi charging — magnetic plates interrupt Qi charging — grab this mount and slap it on.
$10 at Amazon
Charge on the drive
RAVPower 48W 2 Port USB-C Car Charger
This dual-port car charge offers up a Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 port for your older phones that don’t support Power Delivery, and a 30W PD port for everything else. 30W is more than most phones need, and it’ll even charge Chromebooks and Macbooks, though slowly.
$23 at Amazon
Make yourself the ultimate power kit
There’s a lot of ways to upgrade your Android experience, but three items here can give you peace of mind wherever life takes you and wherever you get suddenly stranded.
- For whenever you need to top off in the office or the cafe you’re meeting your girlfriends for coffee, snag the ultra-compact Aukey PA-Y18 PD Wall Charger. It’s small and sturdy enough that you can just stick it in your pants pocket with your keys on your way out the door.
- When you’re stuck with a low battery away from outlets, keep the Aukey 10,000mAh battery charged up and handy. Because it’s phone-sized and lightweight, this is a power bank that’s actually portable enough to carry everyday.
- Of course you need a cable to use either of these, and the Anker Powerline+ with its magnetic carrying wrap is the most practical solution to keep your cable tidy enough to avoid kinks or breaks while it bangs around in your purse or gear bag.
No matter if it’s just a day trip to Epcot or a fortnight’s flight back to the family, this power trinity is always with me. No matter how long my flight gets delayed and no matter how impossibly dense the crowds trying to get back to the parking lot are, I can rest assured that my phone will not die on me when I need it the most.
CYA: Cover Your Android
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again:
No matter your taste, your phone needs a case!
Protecting your shiny new phone isn’t just common sense, it’s an active investment in your phone and your hands, as putting a PopSocket is far easier to do with a case than just sticking it to the slick glass back of your new flagship. A PopSocket or other phone grip can help you from cramping or permanently damaging your joints from mishandling your phone, something I am painfully familiar with since my left pinky yells at me whenever I skip the PopSocket on a new case I’m reviewing. Don’t be like me; get a case and a PopSocket ASAP.
The variety of cases available vary greatly by model, but if you’ve got a relatively mainstream phone like a Pixel or Samsung, you’ve got a pretty good selection to pick from:
- Best Pixel 4 Cases
- Best Pixel 4 XL Cases
- Best Pixel 3a Cases
- Best Pixel 3a XL Cases
- Best Pixel 3 Cases
- Best Pixel 3 XL Cases
- Best Galaxy S10 Cases
- Best Galaxy S10+ Cases
- Best Galaxy S10e Cases
- Best Galaxy S9 Cases
- Best Galaxy Note 10 Cases
- Best Galaxy Note 10+ Cases
- Best Galaxy Note 9 Cases
Screen protectors are also worthwhile purchase for your new phone because if your screen breaks, your phone turns into a $600 paperweight, and no one needs that. Tempered glass screen protectors tend to feel better on your fingers and offer more durable protection against shatters, but even a thinner film protector can offer protection for scuffs and scratches.
- Best Pixel 4 Screen Protectors
- Best Pixel 4 XL Screen Protectors
- Best Pixel 3a Screen Protectors
- Best Pixel 3a XL Screen Protectors
- Best Pixel 3 Screen Protectors
- Best Pixel 3 XL Screen Protectors
- Best Galaxy S10 Screen Protectors
- Best Galaxy S10+ Screen Protectors
- Best Galaxy S10e Screen Protectors
- Best Galaxy S9 Screen Protectors
- Best Galaxy Note 10 Screen Protectors
- Best Galaxy Note 10+ Screen Protectors
- Best Galaxy Note 9 Screen Protectors
