Much like a great recipe, it started with a stick of butter.
This wasn’t real butter; it was a friend’s new phone grip, complemented by a phone case with bold stripes. Butter is in vogue now, or at least that’s what a 12-year-old told me a few months ago. This stick of butter was labeled “unsalty” and committed to the bit by including the appropriate tablespoon markings, just like the real thing. I was enamored. “Where did you get that?” I asked. It was a PopSocket-branded combo, and I found it so irresistible I ordered an equally eye-catching grip a few weeks later. After years of carrying buttoned-up, minimalist tech, I finally said, “To hell with it. I’m gonna have some fun.” I have zero regrets, and it seems I’m not alone in this journey.
Over the past few years I’ve been a vocal, occasionally regretful, member of Team No Phone Case. A case adds bulk and collects pocket lint. Why spend $800 on a piece of tech just to cover it up? If I must use a case, I want it to barely exist. This philosophy worked great with my iPhone 13 Mini, which is perfect as-is. Its size means it’s eminently grippable — no PopSocket necessary and it feels much more secure when I hold it. But phones are big now and are only getting bigger.
Since it’s just held on by a magnet, you can take it off whenever you want to present yourself as a serious grownup
An extended period using Google’s hefty Pixel 10 Pro Fold last year convinced me to adopt a magnetic grip just to use the thing more comfortably. At first, I gravitated toward the minimalist options like low-profile ring stands. But then I saw that stick of butter, and something clicked. A chunky grip is easy to hold. It’s fun. And since it’s just held on by a magnet, you can take it off whenever you want to present yourself as a serious grownup. Why not? I put in an order for a PopSocket shaped like a hot dog, and I was so excited when it arrived I accidentally pulled it apart.
This “why not have fun” ethos has clearly been part of Bailey Hikawa’s mission for the better part of a decade. She’s been making unconventional phone grips and cases out of her Los Angeles studio since 2018. Her designs incorporate input from the disabled community, aiming to offer an easier grip for people who hold their phone differently. But they can be appreciated by anyone who’s ever felt their phone slide out of their fingers. They’re also vibrant and bold. “I would like the phone case to feel like a friend or like a new stuffed animal,” she told The Verge in 2019. Earlier this year, Apple collaborated with Hikawa on a chunky, bright MagSafe grip. Her own online shop includes other grips made of flexible, clear urethane with spaghetti noodles or baby shrimp suspended inside. They’re handmade and the very definition of one-of-a-kind.
In more conventional territory, PopSocket has a surprising number of unusual grips and cases on offer. There’s a classic tomato pincushion, the food truck collection where I found my beloved hot dog, and an aptly named “Sugar Rush” collection. I asked PopSocket founder David Barnett whether I was alone in my pursuit of a bold grip. “We’re seeing more consumers embrace color, texture and personality in their phone accessories,” he told me over email. “I think people want their everyday essentials to feel a little less ordinary. Your phone goes everywhere with you, so why not have a little fun with it?”
Me and my ridiculous PopSocket are in good company. Or we will be — I left it in the office last time I was in New York and its absence has been bumming me out ever since. We’ll be reunited soon enough, but I guess if there’s one downside to being able to take a grip off your phone easily, it’s that you can accidentally leave it behind without much effort.