I added an SD card and USB-A port to my iPhone for $10

At this level, the iPhone and iPad are principally tiny, highly effective computer systems we feature round every single day in our pocket, and when Apple lastly made the bounce from Lightning to USB-C (thanks European Union) a couple of years in the past, each units out of the blue turned appropriate with a variety of equipment, making them much more PC and Mac-like.

Nonetheless, the iPhone and iPad solely characteristic one single USB-C port, which might usually really feel limiting, particularly when you use your iPad extra like a conventional laptop computer. For instance, what if you wish to cost your iPhone whereas additionally dumping pictures from an SD card you utilize in your DSLR? Properly, you’ll be able to’t do this. On the iPad aspect, perhaps you are trying to make use of a wired mouse and keyboard with Apple’s pill. For the reason that iPhone and iPad do not characteristic a USB-A port, you’ll be able to’t make that occur both.

With that in thoughts, when you’re on the lookout for a solution to plug older equipment into your iPhone or iPad, I’ve discovered a really reasonably priced and easy accent that will get the job completed and works nice.

Use a easy USB dongle

There are numerous choices, however even essentially the most fundamental dongle in all probability works nice

Should you’re a MacBook person, you are in all probability very accustomed to residing the “dongle life.” Whereas Apple’s laptops are nice, relying on what mannequin you go for, the port choice may be very limiting, particularly when you have a bunch of older USB-A equipment you continue to use. Due to this, lots of people use some form of USB-C dock that options USB-A ports, further USB-C ports, Thunderbolt ports, and in some instances, even an SD card slot. In my case, I’ve used CalDigit’s TS3 Plus Thunderbolt dock for a number of years now.

Whereas the TS3 Plus is a bit cumbersome and goes effectively past what most individuals in all probability want, it might technically increase your iPhone’s or iPad’s port choice, although it requires its personal energy supply and is not the form of accent anybody would ever wish to carry round with them on the go. What’s extra appropriate for an iPhone or iPad is a compact, easy USB-C or Lightning dongle, with no matter port choice makes essentially the most sense for you (there are even magnetic MagSafe dongles on the market now).

Some docks characteristic USB-C ports and a microSD card slot, whereas others may solely supply further USB-A ports. What works greatest for you’ll finally come all the way down to what sort of equipment you propose to make use of with the iPhone or iPad.

What dongle do I take advantage of?

This $10 accent will get the job completed completely.

In the case of how I take advantage of a dongle like this with my iPad or iPhone, it is fairly easy. Generally once I’m taking pictures pictures with my Olympus OD-M E-M1 Mark III DSLR, I wish to instantly edit and put up them on social media. Slightly than convey my trusty MacBook Professional, I make these fast edits within the Lightroom CC app on my iPhone or iPad. This technique is especially essential if I wish to maintain my gear-filled backpack a bit of lighter than regular, one thing I have been pondering loads about as CES 2026 attracts nearer.

With that in thoughts, to get pictures off my DSLR’s microSD card, I first pop it out of its SD card adapter. Subsequent, I slide it into this USB-C SD Card Reader from an organization I’ve by no means heard of earlier than referred to as, Aidoubara (Amazon is great typically). I then drop the photographs into Lightroom CC on my iPad or iPhone for enhancing by choosing the Lightroom tab, tapping the Add Photographs icon on the backside, and choosing Related Digicam/Card. The photographs immediately present up, and I can make fast edits to them and save them to my iPhone’s Photograph app library for posting throughout platforms like Instagram, X, Threads, and Bluesky.

The adapter additionally encompasses a USB-A port and a microSD slot, although I do not discover I want to make use of these ports fairly often. Whether or not you discover them helpful will come all the way down to how you propose to make use of the USB-C SD Card Reader for iPhone.