I tested the 14 most OVERKILL Smartphone Gadgets

Summary

This video explores a collection of unique and high-tech gadgets designed to upgrade your smartphone. From quirky accessories like a $5 phone umbrella and a cleaning station to powerful camera tools and gaming controllers, these gadgets promise to enhance your phone’s functionality. While some innovations like a magnetic phone mount and a portable SSD impress, others, like the X-gun light gun, fall short. The video reviews each gadget’s performance, offering an entertaining and informative look at the world of phone accessories, with a mix of useful, weird, and downright unnecessary inventions.

Takeaways

• 😀 A $5 phone umbrella sticks to the back of your phone via suction cup to keep your phone dry, though it’s somewhat impractical with limited effectiveness (6/10 rating).
• 😀 The $29 Amaran Go light improves phone photography with a soft, diffused LED light that provides better brightness and temperature control, making selfies and Instagram stories much more flattering (9/10 rating).
• 😀 An $80 phone mount with MagSafe suction cup provides secure attachment to surfaces, allowing for hands-free phone use, but its overpriced cost is a major downside (4/10 rating).
• 😀 The Shiftcam Snap Grip Creator Kit ($150) turns your phone into a professional DSLR-like camera with additional battery support, but the Bluetooth shutter delay and heavy design are drawbacks.
• 😀 The Snap Pod tripod system is designed to hold your phone and camera accessories, but its short, non-extending legs make it impractical, leading to a lower 5/10 rating.
• 😀 The Lexar Professional Go SSD offers up to 2TB of portable storage, enabling better video quality and providing extra ports for charging and connecting accessories, making it a great addition to a phone setup for filmmakers.
• 😀 The X Gun Light Gun is a gaming controller that uses gyroscope positioning and simulated recoil but is uncomfortable and impractical for extended use, earning a low 4/10 rating.
• 😀 The 5,000mAh gaming console for phones provides a surprising gaming experience, though the poor speaker quality and weak connection detract from its overall value (7/10 rating).
• 😀 The wireless MagSafe charger offers convenience but feels cheap in design, with a button that allows the phone to rotate for better viewing angles, but it has poor quality and a 5/10 rating.
• 😀 The Veer Phone Cage adds serious stability for mobile video production by allowing you to attach professional lenses and gear, offering a major boost to cinematic quality, especially with telephoto lenses (9/10 for 60mm lens).

Q & A

What is the purpose of the $5 phone umbrella mentioned in the video?

The $5 phone umbrella is designed to keep your phone dry while you're out in the rain, but not protect your own body. It sticks to the back of your phone via a suction cup, providing minimal protection from rain.

How does the Amaran Go flashlight improve upon a regular phone torch?

The Amaran Go flashlight improves a phone's torch by offering a larger spread of light with a soft diffusion layer, making it gentler on the face for selfies. It also has brightness and color temperature controls for a more customizable lighting experience.

What is the main flaw with the Amaran Go flashlight?

The main flaw with the Amaran Go flashlight is its short battery life, which lasts for less than an hour, making it less practical for extended use despite its excellent performance.

What does the UV phone cleaning station do, and how effective is it?

The UV phone cleaning station uses ultraviolet LEDs to sanitize the phone, removing bacteria. In the experiment, it was shown that it significantly reduced bacteria on the phone, though it wasn't perfect, making it a solid cleaning tool despite some room for improvement.

How does the MagSafe suction cup work, and what are its pros and cons?

The MagSafe suction cup sticks to surfaces like mirrors or walls using a vacuum-like suction mechanism, which securely holds your phone. The pros are its strong suction and charging capability; however, its high price point of $80 for a $7 product is a major con.

What is the ShiftCam Snap Grip Creator Kit, and what does it offer?

The ShiftCam Snap Grip Creator Kit is a $150 accessory that enhances your phone's camera setup. It includes a snap grip with a built-in 3,200 mAh battery, a camera control button, and a tripod, making it ideal for content creators looking for a more professional experience using their phones.

What is the main downside of using the Snap Grip for photography?

The main downside is the slight delay in the Bluetooth shutter button, which could be annoying for users who require immediate responsiveness when capturing photos, especially those used to DSLR cameras.

How does the Lexar Professional Go portable SSD enhance phone recording?

The Lexar Professional Go portable SSD allows you to record in higher-quality formats like ProRes, adding up to 2 terabytes of storage to your phone. It also features a hub with multiple USB-C ports to support additional devices like microphones, improving both video and audio quality.

What are the strengths and weaknesses of the X-Gun Light Gun?

The X-Gun Light Gun is an interesting gadget that combines a Bluetooth controller with gyroscope-based positioning and recoil feedback for gaming. The strengths are its responsiveness and novelty, but the weaknesses include uncomfortable ergonomics, limited use cases, and poor value for its high price.

What is the concept behind the gaming console that attaches to the back of the phone?

This gaming console is a small attachment that transforms your phone into a portable gaming machine, with a 5,000 mAh battery that charges the phone while gaming. While the experience is unique, it is limited by poor speaker quality and an insecure magnetic connection, though it can be handy in low-battery situations.