5 Useful Smartphone Gadgets Under $20

By Sia. in Gadgets. Updated on May 11, 2023.

While the smartphone is a highly useful device in itself, there are some gadgets and accessories that can make your smartphone even smarter.

For this article, I’ve listed down five smartphone gadgets that could be potentially useful for you depending on how you use them. And seeing as some gadgets can be potentially expensive, I’ve set a budget ceiling of USD20 when it comes to these gadgets, meaning you don’t have to break the bank in order to acquire them.

Trilobi Magnetic 3-in-1 cable ($12)

Magnetic charging cables aren’t exactly new to me considering the fact that I’ve covered such a cable before. So what makes the Trilobi Magnetic 3-in-1 cable so unique? The answer is flexibility.

At one end of the cable, you’ll see a rather standard USB Type-A connector. However, this connector can be folded, transforming it into a micro USB connector instead.

On the other end of the cable, you’ll be able to attach an Lightning-cum-micro USB adapter to it, allowing you to plug it into either an iOS or an Android device. Thanks to the way the Trilobi Magnetic cable is designed, you’ll be able to charge either iOS or Android device through a secondary smartphone if you want to.

Intelligent Security – Camera Cover ($11)

Is security a big deal for you? If it is, the Intelligent Security – Camera Cover (IS-CC) is something that may interest you.

Designed with the knowledge that hackers could take control of a device’s camera at any time to spy on you, the IS-CC is a simple tool that you attach to the camera of your device of choice (smartphone, tablet, laptop, etc).

Once the IS-CC is in position, you’ll be able to slide the circular cover around to either block or reveal the camera. In addition to blocking the camera, the IS-CC can also be used to protect your camera from smudges.

Riimo IR blaster ($8)

The Riimo IR blaster is a universal remote controller gadget that is made for a wide range of iOS devices. This little gadget comes in two parts: the hardware and the app.

For the hardware side of things, the Riimo is a tiny infrared dongle that goes into your device’s headphone jack. Once the device is in position, you’ll need to download the app that goes along with it.

After the initial setup is done, you’ll be able to control all of the devices in your home that operate with an IR remote control. Of course, seeing as the dongle itself requires a headphone jack, this particular gadget would be less than ideal if you so happen to be an owner of the latest iPhone.

Auxillite S ($19)

Want to bring the headphone jack back to your new iPhone but you absolutely refuse to get Apple’s dongle? Then the Auxillite S may just be what you need. By plugging in the Auxillite into the iPhone, you’ll gain access to both a headphone jack and a lightning port.

From there, you’ll be able to plug your headphones into your phone, all while having it charge at the same time. Additionally, the Auxillite comes with a 16-bit digital-to-analog converter, giving you a better audio experience.

For the Android device owners who wish to use the Auxillite S on their own devices, you can choose to buy the regular Auxillite instead. Sporting the same design as the Auxillite S, the Auxillite is slightly pricier (28 USD), but it comes with a 24-bit digital-to-analog converter instead.

Unfortunately, the regular Auxillite does not support simultaneous audio and charging, so you can only do one of the two at any point in time.

Magniband ($8)

The Magniband is a curious little gadget that makes macro photography an easy thing. The way you use this gadget is simple: simply strap the thing onto your smartphone and position the circular opening directly over the camera. Once that’s done, the images shown by your camera will have a magnification of 4x.

From that point forward, you can start taking macro shots of whatever you wish. All you really need to keep in mind is to hold the camera 2cm away from the object in order to allow it focus.