5 Cool USB-C Gadgets You Should Plug Into Your New iPad – bgr.com

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Today, all Apple iPad models feature a USB-C port. While only the iPad Pro models have Thunderbolt support, there are still plenty of gadgets you can plug into your tablet, like a microphone for podcasts, a powerful power bank, or even an external storage drive.

Even though some of the top accessories people should have for their iPads don’t require USB-C, like the Magic Keyboard and the Apple Pencil, there are several USB-C products that can make your iPad more useful. Besides that, since Apple keeps expanding iPad capabilities with improved software features, like a super-powered Files app and support for third-party SSDs and microphones, users can do a lot more on their tablets than they could a few years ago.

In this selection, we’ll talk about some of the most popular options available, as well as devices the BGR staff has been using on their own iPads, whether for work, personal projects, or just to take advantage of the iPad hardware. 

If the iPad is your best companion and you’re always working with your voice, going to meetings, recording podcasts, or demoing some songs, then something like Sennheiser Professional Profile is one of the coolest gadgets you could have for your iPad. With USB-C support, you can plug this microphone into your Mac or your iPad, and it’s good to go, as there’s no need for additional software, interface, or window opened up. If you need to tweak anything in your audio, you can do it with the physical buttons on this product, making it one of the most professional and straightforward accessories you could have for your iPad.

Among its features, this Sennheiser microphone includes a mute button, a gain control for the mic volume, a mix control for balancing voice and iPad audio, and a volume control for those monitoring the experience with headphones. Users can also plug it into third-party table stands, and it comes with a 3-point self-locking boom arm. This product has a $129 price tag, while the set with the boom arm costs $199.

Apple promotes that all iPad models feature an all-day battery, which can be misleading depending on how you use your tablet. A solid backup option is to carry a powerful power bank. While regular iPad models can charge properly with a 20W plug, the iPad Pro can charge up to 50 percent in 30 minutes with a 60W or greater charger. 

Since larger 13-inch iPads, like the iPad Air and iPad Pro, have larger batteries, it’s only natural to use a good power bank to recharge them. One of the top recommendations is Anker’s Laptop Power Bank, with 165W of power and 25,000 mAh of battery capacity. According to the company, it could charge an iPad Pro up to 1.4 times.

It has three USB-C outputs with up to 100W, and one USB-A output with 33W. It comes with one retractable USB-C cable and features a smart display that shows battery temperature, current output and input in watts, and battery health of your power bank. It also shows its remaining battery and remaining recharge time, keeping users informed about how they’re using this device.

This is not the only power bank Anker offers, though. Users can choose between even more powerful options, such as the 26,000 mAh model with 300W of power, or more modest versions that can charge your iPad.

If you usually use the iPad Pro to edit in Final Cut Pro and don’t have enough storage on your device, Samsung offers some of the best portable SSDs on the market. The SSD T7, for example, has read and write speeds of around 1GB/s, which means whenever you’re working on a project through this SSD, it will feel as if every file were on your iPad.

This device features all the latest PCIe NVMe technologies, so it is already twice as fast as the previous T5 model and up to 9.5 times faster than an external HDD. Samsung offers 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB models with a sleek form factor. What makes this product very interesting is that you can use it with different devices, like your iPhone, Mac, PC, and so on.

One important thing to know is that these portable SSDs are on the pricey side. The smallest 1TB drive costs $274.99, while the 4TB option can cost more than $1,000. That said, this product is really focused on creators and people who need extra-fast storage at all times.

Satechi has a really popular lineup called OntheGo, with one of the latest items being this Foldable Stand Hub. This lets you connect your iPhone or iPad to a 4K60Hz HDMI output while still offering dual 10Gbps USB-C and USB-A ports, UHS-II SD and microSD card slots, and 100W USB-C power delivery passthrough to keep everything up and running.

With this dock station, you can have somewhere to place your iPad firmly on a desktop while connecting several accessories at once. Satechi calls this new accessory a portable workstation, as it’s just one inch thick and folds up for easy transportation. While this list focuses on cool iPad accessories, the OntheGo Foldable Stand Hub is also a great option for iPhone users, too, and even for Samsung Galaxy owners who might want to take advantage of DeX. Satechi’s OntheGo Foldable Stand Hub is available on the company’s website for $ 79.99 and is optimized for iPad Pro, iPad Air, and iPad mini (A17 Pro) or later.

A USB-C to Ethernet adapter is perhaps the simplest device on this list, but it’s especially useful if you use the iPad on the go and your internet connection isn’t reliable, whether that’s your hotel’s Wi-Fi or 5G. With a USB-C to Ethernet adapter, like the Belkin model available on the Apple Store, you can give your iPad a more stable connection via an Ethernet cable.

This can be especially useful if you’re on a deadline and need to send a large file, playing an online game that requires a stable connection, and so on. In fact, Belkin itself says this adapter is the way to go for online gaming, streaming, video conferencing, and other tasks that require reliable performance. It comes with a built-in 90mm cable, is USB-IF certified, and has an LED indicator light to show when everything is working properly. Once you plug the adapter into your iPad’s USB-C port, you just need to connect an Ethernet cable to it, and that’s it. This accessory costs $29.95, but Belkin also offers a slightly upgraded option that includes a 100W pass-through charger port.