Tested: The Best AirPods Pro Accessories You Can Buy

Ever since Apple packaged their EarPods alongside the beloved iPhone 5 back in 2012, the benchmark for entry-level earphones shifted entirely. While these were far from the audiophile’s dream, their shape was adored by many, as critics heralded the now-budget buds as “practically custom-molded” — and they were practically right. Thanks to their unorthodox silhouette, Apple’s game-changing new take assisted in minimizing sound loss and keeping listeners in tune every step of the way. Years later, these have been rendered obsolete, but the shape has maintained its prominence en route to standardizing the brand’s AirPods as everybody’s go-to choice for new in-ears.

Nowadays, you’d be hard-pressed to find a handful of people walking down your local street that don’t own a pair of Apple’s flagship wireless earphones, and the same applies to their pro-iteration or maxed-out over-ears. Moreover, spending well over $150 on something so fragile and not doing everything in your power to refrain from damaging it is simply ludicrous. As the same applies to each of Apple’s other gadgets, countless companies have had their hand in mindfully crafting accessories to protect your AirPods. Furthermore, it’s only fitting that we provide a mindful breakdown of the best ones on the market, so take a look for yourself at the best AirPods Pro accessories below and remember to protect your pods.

From portable wireless chargers to protective cases to wireless transmitters, there’s a wide variety of different types of accessories for AirPods. And while this may lead one to believe that the most important aspects to consider when shopping would vary from product to product, the reality is that there are a handful of areas that one should can an eye out for across the board when looking at this AirPods add-ons. Below, we’ll briefly break down the most pivotal factors to take into account before making your purchase(s). 

Capability-Bolstering: One of the main jobs of the majority of accessories for the AirPods is to improve some trait, capability, or characteristic of the Apple earbuds — making this an important area to consider when shopping. This can include everything from items that improve comfort to accessories that increase battery life.

Protection & Care: Other major elements to review when shopping are protection and care, as a decent number of AirPods accessories are focused on one or both of these areas. The majority of items that fall under this umbrella are comprised of cleaning and sterilization products and protective sleeves, covers, or cases.  

Materials: Be it outdoor axes or office backpacks, the materials used to make any product or piece of gear will play a pretty significant role in the item’s overall quality and durability, and AirPods accessories are no different in this regard. Because of the nature of these items and the general product space, the most common constructions used for AirPods accessories consist of plastics, polymers, and occasionally alloys. 

Style & Aesthetics: Though it’s overall visual theme has come a very long way since the days of its colorful pre-millennium era iMacs and iBooks, Apple boasts a decidedly sleek and distinctive signature visual theme that’s shared by its current range of computers and devices. Even though their accessories are seldom made by Apple themselves, a great many third-party outfits have opted to emulate Jony Ive’s design language when penning their accessories, allowing them to better visually jive with your earbuds and the rest of your suite of Apple tech. If the aesthetics of Apple’s devices are a major selling point for you, this is definitely an area that you’ll want to consider when shopping. 

Size & Compatibility: With three current existing generations of AirPods — and the new AirPods Pro 2 having just dropped only days ago — all with charging cases and earbuds slightly varying in shape in size, no all accessories are compatible with all gens. As a result, it’s imperative that you double check that an accessory is compatible with your particular model and generation of Apple earbuds. Additionally, some accessories prevent the case from charging or closing, while others don’t interfere with the gadget’s functions in any way — making this yet another important area to review when shopping. 

Unveiled alongside the Apple Watch Series 2 and iPhone 7, the first-generation AirPods first debuted in early September of 2016, and as soon as the wireless earbuds hit the market, third-party companies began producing aftermarket add-ons and accessories. Over the seven years since the release of the gen-one, the market has only grown more inundated with offerings in this space. In a bid to narrow down the endless sea of options and hone in on the best AirPods accessories, we began our search by making a list of some of the most common complaints and issues of Apple’s earbuds, as this enabled us to look for products that remedy these shortcomings. In addition to scouring the collection of accessories that Apple itself recommends, we also looked to some of the most trusted established brands that operate in this space, reviewing their available options in this space. 

Continuing, we then proceeded to review an even larger list of AirPods accessories on major online retailers, poring over hundreds and hundreds of items and selecting only a handful of standouts based on perceived utility, quality, size, and value. Using the aforementioned processes and criteria, we generated a short list of what we suspected to be the best AirPods accessories that money can buy. Next we did exactly that and bought every item from our list in order to actually use and test each product for an extended period. This hands-on testing phase would ultimately reveal how each item functions in the real world and how effective it is, as well as the quality and feel of every product’s materials and build quality. After an extended field-testing period, our original shortlist of ordered products was then further narrowed down to a final list comprising what we believe to be the best Apple AirPods accessories based on our firsthand experience and testing. 

Hagibis Cleaning Pen

Best Cleaning Tool: As devices that are used on a daily basis — and ones that are put in your ears no less — AirPods tend to get pretty dirty pretty quickly. As such, having a proper cleaning tool for these earbuds is extremely helpful. The Hagibis Cleaning Pen is a compact 3-in-1 item that features a flocking sponge, a high-density brush, and a metal pen tip — all of which neatly stow away in a pocketable pen-shaped housing. 

Seltureone Anti-Loss Straps 2-Pack

Best AirPods Strap: There are few things more daunting about picking up a pair of wireless earphones for yourself than losing them. Luckily, this inexpensive set of anti-loss straps will keep your AirPods at their safest the old-fashioned way, sans that pesky wire poking out of your pockets. Constructed of ultra-thin silicone for a simple assembly, you’ll have the folks over at Seltureone to thank for these whenever you’re working out. This item is also sold in packs of two.

Proof Labs Ear Hooks 3 Pairs

Best Ear Hooks: While Apple’s sub-branch in Beats tends to throw a set of ear hooks onto their flagship in-ear headphones, the Silicon Valley gadgeteers prefer a more subdued look, which comes as no surprise whatsoever. With that being said, though, a little bit of extra security always comes in handy, as having a couple of pricey earphones practically dangling in the air can be rather stressful. Proof Labs’ set of ear hooks is made up of silicone, making them flexible and easy to adjust. These are sure to serve you as great on your morning run as they do when you’re rushing out of the office to grab some lunch.

COMPLY Foam Ear Tips

Best Ear Tips: Surely, there are more comfortable things to put in our ears than pure rubber, and while the AirPods Pro offer soft tips that stand out a bit over their alternate counterpart, some would still prefer a different material. Thankfully, Comply understands this issue, providing a couple of foam tips that optimize comfort without obstructing sound quality and still fit in your charging case with no issues.

NOMAD Modern AirPods Leather Case

Best AirPods Case: This SoCal-based brand constantly manages to class up any of your pocketable gadgets, and they continue to do so with even the latest pair of AirPods. Crafted from Horween leather, a very particular textile that comes from a well-tenured company out in Chicago, this subtle accessory is smooth, stylish, and vegetable-tanned, ensuring that these will only look better with age.

Satechi Wireless Charging Dock

Best Wireless Charger: Before the advent of true wireless buds hitting the market, there was never a reason to be concerned with our earphones dying when on the move. Nowadays, convenience comes with a price, and the need to charge up is a minor cross to bear with brands like Satechi. With a USB-C friendly dock, this handy handheld gadget could plug directly into your laptop and juice your AirPods as long as you have one of the more recent wireless charging-compatible cases.

Catalyst AirPods Pro 100M Waterproof Total Protection Case + Carabiner

Best Rugged Case: Catalyst is a name that has been transporting quality goods for years, and we could all use a touch of color in our lives. Thanks to their mightily sturdy soft skin case, you can dress your AirPods up in a variety of colors all the while knowing they are safe, sound, and even waterproof a bit over 3 feet. Composed of heavy-duty silicone, Catalyst manages to deliver pretty impressive specs for what looks like a simple accessory, as it boasts an ultra reassuring, 4-foot drop protection that even manages to surpass military standards.

Twelve South AirFly Pro

Best Bluetooth Transmitter: Any time you’re traveling on an outdated plane, there are too many uncomfortable aspects to count. Whether it’s the intolerable seats or a lack of sufficient entertainment options, there is truly nothing pleasant about it. With that being said, the inability to connect your AirPods to any of these old jets’ media centers can be just as troublesome when trying to get through a long flight. Luckily, this transmitter from Twelve South allows you to connect your earphones to whatever film you’re watching with ease via the plane’s headphone jack. On top of that, they even serve as a great accessory to connect to a Nintendo Switch.

Carepodd UV Cleaner

Best AirPods Sanitizer: This nifty cleaning station comes as a result of an issue anybody perusing this list has experienced: cleaning up your AirPods. Often requiring a strenuously meticulous routine, you can toss that whole process out the window thanks to the Carepodd. Compatible with either the standard or Pro models, simply place your buds into their individual slots, pop the top on, and let this handy mini-station do all the dirty work in a matter of 20 seconds.

Belkin BOOST↑CHARGE 3-in-1 Wireless Charger

Base Charging Stand: As we mentioned above, few things have come out of the tech industry in recent years that proved to be as convenient as wireless charging, and Belkin is one of the leaders in the field. With one of the premier charging stations on the market, the SoCal consumer crew provides a 3-in-1 charging base and station to boost up your iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods all at the same time. The power of Apple is one of a kind, but having them all in one place makes it even more recognizable. While this is cooperative with any Qi-compatible devices, it is not capable of utilizing MagSafe for your newer iPhones.

The Best Apple Watch Accessories

The makers of some of our favorite AirPods upgrades also happen to produce some fantastic add-ons for the tech giant’s smartwatch — the latest and greatest of which we’ve counted down in our guide to the best Apple Watch accessories you can buy.