The 10 Best Apple Watch Accessories You Didn’t Know You Needed

7 min readYour Apple Watch but the right accessory is what makes it actually fit your life. A slick band can match your style, a charger keeps it powered as you cross the globe, and a case survives backcountry adventures.We’ve pulled together the gear that gets the most out of your watch. Some of it wraps right around your wrist, and some of it lives in the wider world the watch plugs into, from nightstand chargers to the smart-home and audio companions it controls best. With the lineup now on USB-C and Qi2 charging, a few of these picks are worth a fresh look even if you thought you were set. Whether you just unboxed a Series 12, strapped on the rugged Ultra 4, or you’re happily holding onto an older model, these are the accessories we’d actually use with our own watches.Best Overall: Apple Watch Sport Loop​Best Travel Charger: Anker MagGo Power Bank for Apple Watch​Best Rugged Case: Spigen Rugged Armor Pro​Best Premium Band: Nomad Titanium Band​Best Tracker: Apple AirTag 2​How We SelectedThe picks below come from years of living with Apple Watches and the gear built around them, like third-party bands, portable power banks, wireless chargers, and cases. We leaned on our own hands-on experience reviewing wearables and accessories, while cross-referencing trusted publication reviews and owner feedback. We prioritized accessories that are compatible with models that are a few years old and newer, including USB-C and Qi2 charging, while flagging what still works with older models. From there, we weigh fit and finish, charging speed, durability, and comfort.New to the lineup? Catch up on a decade of Apple Watch history, or see how it stacks up against the best smartwatches you can buy.ProsComfortable day and nightEasy to adjust with one handConsA bit too casual for some settingsThe band does more to change your watch than any other accessory, and the Sport Loop is the one we’d put on almost anyone’s wrist. It features a double-layer nylon weave, making it soft and light enough that you forget it during overnight sleep tracking. We’ve been wearing a Sport Loop for years and it remains the most comfortable band available. The hook-and-loop closure cinches to any wrist and fastens with one hand, so you’re not wrestling a buckle on your way out the door. It can handle sweat and rain, and when it gets grubby, you can wash it by hand and let it air dry. Apple sells it in a rotating set of colors across both case sizes, and it regularly drops in price.ProsCharges watch and phone from one brickHas a built-in USB-C cableConsWatch charging can be slowIf your watch frequently dies on the road, this is the power bank to get. The Anker MagGo is a 10,000mAh battery with a dedicated Apple Watch pad on top and a built-in USB-C cable that pulls out for your iPhone, so one brick covers your whole kit. It’s about 3.7 inches tall, small enough to slip into a jacket pocket, and a front display shows how much charge is left. Anker rates it at 35 watts of total output, enough to refill a phone a couple of times with power left over for your watch. Charging the watch itself runs slow, so it won’t beat plugging into an outlet, but for keeping a Series 12 or Ultra 4 alive through a long travel day, this is an easy, reliable way to do it.Pros25W Qi2.2 iPhone charging, props the phone up for StandBy45W brick and cable come in the boxFast-charges the Apple Watch to 80 percent in about 45 minutesConsThe main charging pad’s fan can get noisyThe Belkin UltraCharge Pro 3-in-1 (Qi2.2, 25W) holds your iPhone on a magnetic Qi2.2 pad that fast-charges at 25 watts and props it up for StandBy mode, so you get a bedside clock while a Series 12 and your AirPods top off with it. Belkin says the UltraCharge Pro can take your watch from zero to 80 percent in about 45 minutes and the iPhone from zero to 50 percent in 25 minutes. A fan helps keep temperatures in the main pad low, and the weighted chrome base stays put when you grab your phone with one hand. The 45-watt brick and cable come in the box, so you don’t have to buy any additional accessories.ProsAn affordable way to protect your expensive watchRaised bezel guards the sapphire faceConsAdds noticeable bulk to an already large watchThe Apple Watch Ultra 4 is already rugged thanks to its titanium shell, a flat sapphire face, and a rating for ocean depth and desert heat. But a bumper case can still help. At $22, this is an affordable way to do it, and it comes with a matching band. The Rugged Armor Pro is one piece of flexible TPU, with a frame that wraps the watch body with a raised lip over the display. Clean cutouts give you access to the Action button, Digital Crown, and side button, and it fits every 49mm Ultra, from the original through the Ultra 4.ProsGrade 2 titanium with a scratch-resistant DLC coatingTitanium makes it very durableConsNot the cheapest band aroundA metal band is the fastest way to dress up the Series 12 for more formal occasions. Nomad’s Titanium Band features 99 percent Grade 2 titanium links, with a diamond-like carbon coating that can withstand everyday scratches. The connecting links hide underneath, so the top looks like one clean surface, and the magnetic clasp snaps shut with no loose tail to tuck. You also can adjust the sizing by popping links out with the included tool, making it easy to fit almost any wrist, and it should stay comfortable on your wrist for extended periods.ProsFKM rubber with vented channels wicks sweatSlim pin-and-tuck closure stays flushConsCan feel a bit chunky compared to nylon optionsApple’s own sport band works, but Nomad’s breathes better when you’re actually sweating. The Sport Band is molded from FKM, a dense rubber that shrugs off sweat, sunscreen, and pool chlorine without getting sticky or yellowing, and raised channels on the underside give moisture somewhere to go so your wrist isn’t sweaty after a hard session. The pin-and-tuck closure sits flush, with no flapping tail to catch on a pull-up bar or a sleeve. It rinses clean in the sink and dries almost instantly. Stainless lugs lock into the case, and it fits the 42mm and 46mm Series 12, as well as the 49mm Ultra 4.ProsCombines an Apple Watch puck and a 100W USB-C cableRetractable cable extends up to 3 feetConsThe watch pad charges slowly at 2.5WThe Baseus Retractable USB-C Apple Watch Cable packs a watch pad and a 100-watt USB-C cable into one reel. The housing is the watch pad, and the cable is USB-C to USB-C, so it can fast-charge an iPhone or charge a laptop. The retractable cable pulls out to three feet, and it winds back until the whole charger is small enough to fit in a pocket. The cable allows you to charge two devices simultaneously, splitting 95 watts on the cable and 2.5 watts on the watch. Those aren’t breakneck speeds for the watch, but it’s enough to top it off overnight.ProsANC comes to the entry-level modelH2 chip hands audio off across your Apple devicesConsOpen-ear fit isn’t for everyoneThe AirPods 5 are more of an adjacent accessory pick, but they’re a solid one nonetheless. The AirPods 5 keep the open-ear shape that stays comfortable for hours, but Apple added active noise cancellation (ANC) to the base model, promising to cut up to 50 percent more outside noise than the last generation. The H2 chip ties them to the whole Apple ecosystem, so audio follows you from a watch-tracked run to your iPhone to your Mac with no re-pairing. They are dust- and water-resistant, and support Live Translation, so you can carry on a conversation in near real time. At $129, or $149 with the wireless charging case, they’re Apple’s most affordable wireless earbuds.ProsThe second-gen model adds Precision Finding to your wristUp to 50 percent more rangeConsPrecision Finding requires a Series 9 or newerThis isn’t a watch accessory in the strict sense, but one that can pay off in a big way. Attach an AirTag to your keys or drop one in a bag, and when they go missing, you can open Find My right on your wrist and pinpoint their exact location. The second-gen AirTag brings Precision Finding to the Apple Watch Series 9 or later (or Ultra 2 and up) for the first time, so you no longer have to reach for your phone to home in on misplaced keys. Apple says its new tag reaches up to 50 percent farther than the 2021 tag, and the speaker is loud enough to hear across a room.ProsSyncs weight, body fat, visceral fat, and heart rate into Apple HealthLogs weight within 0.1 poundConsAn annual subscription is required for deeper analyticsA smart scale is a good companion for the Apple Watch to help you reach your fitness goals, especially if you’re keeping track of your weight. The Withings Body Smart Scale logs weight to within 0.1 pound, then adds body fat, muscle mass, visceral fat, and a resting heart rate at each weigh in. All of it syncs to Apple Health over Wi-Fi, adding to the stats your watch already tracks. A color screen on the scale shows your trends, so you can quickly see where you’re at. One set of batteries lasts for about 15 months, and up to eight people can share it with separate private profiles.What to ConsiderFinding the right accessory starts with the problem you’re trying to solve. A band that survives heavy workouts is a different purchase than one for more formal occasions, and a bedside charger has little in common with one you throw in a carry-on. Decide what you want the watch to do better before you start comparing products.The Series 12 comes in 42mm and 46mm sizes, while the Ultra 4 is 49mm. Bands are grouped by those sizes, so match the band to your case before you buy. Meanwhile, the watch charges off its own magnetic puck, not a flat Qi pad, so a wireless charger has to feature the right puck to work. If you also want to top off an iPhone or AirPods, look for compatibility with Qi2 or the newer Qi2.2 standard. Then decide where the charger will live, like on a nightstand or in your travel bag.The accessories that are worth purchasing are the ones that build on what the watch already does, like a scale that sends your weight to Apple Health, a tracker you can ping from your wrist, and a band that fits your style. Start with the problem, and the right pick usually sorts itself out.Tyler Wells Lynch is a writer and editor who specializes in home, DIY, music, and computers. As a freelance journalist he covers a variety of environmental and public policy issues, with bylines appearing in The New York Times, USA Today, Vice, HuffPo, Sierra, Yes!, Business Insider, and Reviewed, among others. In between writing ventures, Tyler enjoys running, cooking, playing music, and exploring the New England coast, where he lives with his wife and his dog Billy.Kevin Cortez is an editor for Runner's World, Bicycling, and Popular Mechanics covering reviews. A culture and product journalist for over ten years, he’s an expert in men’s style, technology, gaming, coffee, e-bikes, hiking, gear, and all things outdoors. He most recently worked as the Style Editor for Reviewed, a top product recommendation site owned by USA TODAY. He also helped with the launch of WSJ's Buy Side commerce vertical, and has covered the music and podcast industries for Mass Appeal, Genius, Vulture, Leafly, Input, and The A.V. Club. Equally passionate about leisure as he is his penmanship, Kevin dedicates his spare time to graphic novels, birding, making cold brew, and taking long, meandering walks.