(Credit: Apple)
Apple's experiment with special-edition accessories continues. After rolling out a sock-like iPhone pocket last week, it launched a quirky MagSafe stand/grip this week.
The triangular accessory features a finger hole in the middle and snaps onto the back of any iPhone model, functioning as a stand in both portrait and landscape modes. The silicone material also doubles as a cushion for an ergonomic and soft-touch feel, Apple says.
"The grip was designed through an extensive interview process to support varied ways of holding [an] iPhone while reducing the effort needed to keep it steady," says designer Bailey Hikawa, who gathered feedback from individuals with muscle strength, dexterity, and hand control issues while developing the product.
Hikawa also designs and sells iPhone cases and grips on his own, but the Hikawa Phone Grip & Stand is an exclusive collaboration with Apple. It's available now on Apple.com for $69.95 in two color options: Chartreuse (neon yellow) and Crater (gray).
(Credit: Apple)The launch also marks the 40th anniversary of Apple's accessibility work. "There's this joy that I feel when somebody says that this is helpful, that they can't live without it, that it's comfortable in their hand, that they can't believe that they have never experienced this," Hikawa tells Elle Decor. "This is the beginning of many more offerings for all kinds of bodies."
The $70 grip is the latest pricey Apple accessory, following the $19 Polishing Cloth, $700 Mac Pro Wheels, and the iPhone Pocket, which could set you back up to $230 depending on length.