CES 2017: The Best Apple Related Accessories

Apple may not take part in the annual Consumer Electronics Show, but the event is still filled with all kinds of Apple-related accessories from third-party vendors. Some aren't so great or are the same old thing, but others are novel, fun, and bring something new to the table.

For this video, we spent a couple of days exploring the show floor to find some of the best Apple accessories of CES 2017.


Incipio showed off a new iPhone 7 case that brings back the headphone jack. The case itself is rather thin, but there is a large chin at the bottom to accommodate both the headphone jack and and a Lightning charging port.

Griffin displayed its BreakSafe cables for the MacBook and MacBook Pro. The cables, including a new 100W model for the 2016 MacBook Pro, are designed to replace Apple's MagSafe connector, offering the same breakaway functionality over USB Type-C.

Henge Docks debuted a number of products to complement the new MacBook Pro. The original Vertical Dock allows you to dock your computer off to the side of a monitor, while the new Horizontal Dock allows you to securely dock the MacBook Pro without compromising usability. The Horizontal Dock features pressure sensors to know when the computer is present, and it then automatically connects itself with the computer. This dock has 13 ports available including HDMI, USB Type-A, and Ethernet. Henge Docks also announced the Tethered Dock, which gives you a station to connect multiple cables and charge your MacBook.

CMRA showed off a prototype Apple Watch band that features a front and rear-facing camera, but it didn't have a functional model on hand. We only saw a dummy unit, so we'll have to wait to see the band in action. The CMRA is already available for pre-order, but won't ship out until later this year.

Finally, NanoLeaf displayed its colorful array of Aurora lights. These HomeKit-enabled lights can be displayed on a wall and each individual light can be controlled through the Aurora app. NanoLeaf also demoed the new Aurora Rhythm sound sensor that allows the lights to react to music and sound.

If you missed them, make sure to check out the videos we did at CES Unveiled and Pepcom, two events that had tons of cool Apple products. You'll also want to check out our full CES coverage, which has dozens more accessories worth looking at.

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Expected Next Week - Here Are the Release Notes

Friday March 28, 2025 2:01 pm PDT by
With the second release candidate of iOS 18.4 that Apple seeded out today, the company finally provided us with release notes that give a full rundown on what to expect. There's an Apple Vision Pro app, new Apple Intelligence features for notifications and additional language support, plus an Apple News Food feature for Apple News+ subscribers, and several updates that should improve the...
Magic Mouse Green

What to Expect From the Magic Mouse 3

Saturday March 29, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Apple is reportedly working on a new Magic Mouse. Below, we recap what to expect. The two key rumors for the Magic Mouse 3 so far include a relocated charging port, along with a more ergonomic design. It was briefly rumored that the Magic Mouse 3 would also feature voice control, but that was misinterpreted information. Relocated Charging Port While the Magic Mouse switched from...
top stories 2025 03 29

Top Stories: WWDC 2025 Announced, iPhone 17 Pro and iOS 19 Rumors, and More

Saturday March 29, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
Apple's big developer event is a little over two months away, and rumors about what we can expect to see in Apple's next major operating system updates are becoming increasingly frequent. A public release of iOS 18.4 is also imminent with a number of updates and improvements, although we won't be getting the major Apple Intelligence Siri upgrades that had reportedly been planned for this...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

Six Things to Know About Apple's Upcoming Foldable iPhone

Friday March 28, 2025 3:54 pm PDT by
We've been hearing rumors about a foldable iPhone for almost a decade now, but it looks like we might finally see the device come to fruition in 2026. We're going to be waiting many more months for the foldable iPhone, but so far we're hearing good things. Apple wants to make it creaseless. It's taken Apple multiple years to design a foldable iPhone that it's satisfied with because Apple ...
iOS 19 visionOS UI Elements

Apple Codename Provides Clue About iOS 19's Rumored New Design

Sunday March 30, 2025 6:40 am PDT by
Multiple sources have claimed that iOS 19 will introduce a new design with more translucent buttons, menus, notification banners, and more, and there is now another clue that points towards this glass-like appearance. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said the new design project is codenamed "Solarium" internally. A solarium is a room with glass walls that allow in plenty of sunlight, so this...
Facebook Feature

Facebook's New iPhone App Feature Turns the Clock Back to 2007

Thursday March 27, 2025 1:59 pm PDT by
In the mid-to-late 2000s, Facebook was all about staying connected with friends and family. However, as the social media platform added new features and grew over time, that core experience began to get drowned out. That changes starting now, according to Meta, which today introduced a new feature that will "bring back the joy" of classic Facebook. Specifically, Meta has redesigned the...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

iPhone Foldable Display Said to Feature iPad-Style 4:3 Aspect Ratio

Friday March 28, 2025 3:44 am PDT by
Apple's upcoming "iPhone Fold" will feature a foldable screen with a 4:3 aspect ratio, according to a Chinese leaker who previously leaked the book-style device's display dimensions. The Weibo-based account Digital Chat Station claims that Apple will adopt a "roughly" 4:3 aspect ratio on the inner display in order to achieve consistency between the outer display, as well as to ensure parity...

Top Rated Comments

gadgetguy03 Avatar
107 months ago
The theme this year? Let's replace everything Apple took away!
Score: 34 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DevNull0 Avatar
107 months ago
Amazing how many of these accessories just restore functionality Timmy took away.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Guy Clark Avatar
107 months ago
Many of the recently released accessories (for Macs in particular) show how inadequate the modern Mac is for the consumer.

A 2014 Retina MacBook Pro is a far more flexible and useful machine than the 2016 abomination. Macs are no more than fashion accessories instead of productive tools these days with the exception of the iMac.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
weezerr Avatar
107 months ago
So one of the best was a broken demo for an iwatch camera?

Inspiring.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
baryon Avatar
107 months ago
I find it quite funny how most of these things used to be built into Apple products at no extra cost (literally), and now, in the name of making products thinner, you have to use these cases, adapters and docks that actually make them even thicker than the previous version. Also I bet they're ridiculously expensive.

Yes, yes they removed the floppy drive and it was a great albeit premature idea at the time. Yes, the CD drive was a huge, bulky, unreliable piece that was a good riddance from a laptop. These things had their time and became obsolete, so it was just a matter of when, not if.

But Now we're talking about removing tiny little things that make your life hell, none of which are going to go obsolete. MagSafe, the classic USB port, the headphone jack, the HDMI port, the SD card reader... None of these things are bulky and none of them are obsolete. Most cameras in 2017 continue to use SD cards, all screens and projectors use HDMI, all audio devices use an audio jack, and all digital devices use the classic USB port. With the exception of USB-C, these are going to remain this way for the entire life of this computer, and well beyond it.

And you don't gain much either, these devices can't get much thinner now.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AngerDanger Avatar
107 months ago
Gotta love the Incipio case that 1) adds extra length to the already long iPhone and 2) makes landscape use asymmetrical. I've posted it before, and it'd probably make an industrial designer groan, but given the fact that headphone jacks are longer than they are wide, it would make sense to put the jack and Lightning input on either side of the case:



Attachment Image
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)