So now that he’s got himself a new iPhone 16, a friend asked me earlier this week which USB-C chargers and accessories to get. Let’s call him Evan.
“Funny you should mention it,” I told him. “I just went through this process myself in November. These are the things I bought myself,” I said, before sending over a thorough list of my go-to accessories. I am delighted that I have put Apple’s Lightning in my rear-view window. My cable pouch literally halved in size. I now use a comparatively small pouch sold by Thule, called Subterra 2 Power Shuttle Small (R800).
Talking of cables, you always need longer ones for those hard-to-reach plugs – often at work but also, frustratingly, in bedrooms. Anker is my favourite brand of charger and cable supplier.
The Anker A322 USB-C cable (R190) is 1.8m and the Anker 322 Cable (R150) is 90cm. Both are made from a more durable nylon weave and can handle 60W charging. I also wanted another slightly longer-ish cable, so I grabbed a white and black braided cable by Snug (R200) that is 1.2m long.
I like the Anker 312 charger so much that I buy them whenever I see them on sale as they are very much worth it, even at the full R400 price. They produce 30W of charge (which is good enough for a MacBook Air) and are delightfully compact.
UGreen, another charging and cable brand I own plenty of, makes a 2-port GaN charger (R900) that puts out 45W of power. GaN stands for Gallium Nitride, a truly wonderful upgrade that requires fewer components than older silicon chargers and is significantly faster at getting batteries full again.
Local brand Winx makes an excellent (and excellently priced) 33W charger (R200) with a single Type-C and USB-A port each.
My all-time favourite charger (I know, I need to get out more) is Anker’s 735 GaN Prime 65W model (R1,600). It has two Type-C ports and one USB-A (into which I’ve put a Type-C adapter). I always travel with it because I always have two things to charge next to the bed; my phone and my watch. It has a third, albeit slower port, but one that still features dynamic power distribution (PD).
Cover up
I’m pathological about putting covers on my phones, which are essentially two slabs of glass with delicate electronics inside them. I know they look beautiful and all, but one drop and those screens (or slabs of glass, however hardened) can break.
I look for robust but compact covers like the Speck Presidio2 Pro cover (R950) or the UAG Metropolis LT case (R1,200). Both are snug, have a gap for the new iPhone 16 camera control, and are MagSafe-ready. I’ve been wanting to use this magnetic enhancement at the back of iPhones for ages, but always had my driver’s licence in my old phone’s case. Now I have a Speck MagSafe wallet (R600) that holds that licence. Given how we’ve added our credit cards to our smartphone wallets, it’s the only physical thing you need to carry with you. The Speck wallet clips on with enough force to ensure it stays on. I was tempted enough by the thought to pick up the Speck StandyGrip (R600) clip-on. I despise those pop-on thingies that people put in their phones, but I am willing to admit there is logic in that kind of way of holding a 200g shiny slab of glass.
As if to immediately prove my point, and the product’s ruggedness, I waved my arm (and phone) around the Stuff newsroom – and knocked over some large metal letters that spell Stuff. I was doubly sold.
I bought the Speck Balance Folio (R1,000) for my iPad Pro when I got it a few years back, and have since been taken with the brand.
For the car
A USB-C fast-charging auxiliary charger has become a necessity, given how power-hungry our model computers have become. Snug makes a dinky little Mini PD 30W car charger (R350) that is well worth it.
I’ve been using a clever car mount from local brand Peachz, but see they are now selling an upgraded version with its own 15W wireless charging abilities (R570). I bought the previous model because it has some wiggly piece of wire that clips into the weird air vents in my car. This upgrade is only R90 more than Peachz’ original magnet holder (R480).
