4 Costco Tablet Accessories That Will Level Up Your iPad – BGR

Most people know Costco as a warehouse retail outlet with a wide selection of products that often cost less than they do at other retailers. Its consumer electronics department has a lot of variety, with everything from tablets to laptops, and from phones to Bluetooth speakers. But Costco also keeps a large variety of Apple products in its inventory. Popular devices like the iPad and its numerous models are readily available, and as such, so are some tablet accessories that can make the iPad an even more capable and convenient device to keep on your roster of digital devices.

The iPad itself has evolved from a piece of tech many people only used for light tasks like web browsing into a full-fledged media studio. Professional models like the iPad Pro can handle photo editing, video editing, and creating digital artwork. More entry-level models can handle note-taking and even professional productivity workflows. But the right accessories can expand the way an iPad is used, with many designed to open up a user’s creative muscles, and many more designed to make iPad use more comfortable and convenient. Costco has several tablet accessories to shop, and we’ve applied our tech expertise to select the ones that can level up your iPad.

The Apple Pencil Pro is the most feature-packed stylus Apple makes for the iPad, and it’s available at Costco for $125, which is slightly less expensive than the Apple Store’s $129 price tag. It provides a far more immersive experience than simply using your finger to navigate all of the iPad’s capabilities. The Apple Pencil Pro uses a built-in gyroscope that provides a level of precision that makes doing digital artwork on an iPad more like doing so with pen and paper. A number of different touch and squeeze gestures also make things like note-taking more intuitive and similar to an analog experience.

Even with the slight savings Costco provides on the Apple Pencil Pro, it’s still an expensive accessory. The standard, first-generation Apple Pencil is also available at Costco. At $95, it offers many of the features of the Pencil Pro alongside some savings. But we feel the Apple Pencil Pro takes the iPad’s stylus game to the next level, and it is one of Apple’s flagship iPad accessories. iPad users doing any kind of creative work are likely to benefit from having the Pencil Pro on hand, as are more casual users looking for an ergonomic way to interact with the touchscreen.

If you’re looking for a way to turn your iPad into a MacBook replacement, you should consider the Magic Keyboard for iPad. It attaches magnetically to compatible iPad models and has no need for wireless pairing or connection cables. It provides users with multiple viewing angles, a palm rest designed to remain portable yet roomy, and a trackpad with haptic feedback and Multi-Touch gesture support. Apple has also managed to fit a 14-key function row into the Magic Keyboard, which provides push-button controls for music selections, volume, and screen brightness, among other things.

The Magic Keyboard is another iPad accessory that comes in a hefty price point. The Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro 11-inch goes for $290 at Costco, and while that’s less than its $299 price tag in the Apple Store, it still makes the accessory an expensive investment. The Magic Keyboard is also designed to fit specific iPad models, so shoppers will want to be sure they’re purchasing the correct one before they go through checkout. But it’s a capable accessory both as a keyboard and as a protective case, which adds some value to the Magic Keyboard for iPad’s high price tag.

A power bank is a popular accessory among people who do a lot of work on the go, and the Ugreen Nexode 20,000 mAh power bank is one that offers a lot of additional power to iPad users. Most iPad models deliver solid battery life, but from streaming video to editing photos, and from long days of note-taking to making video calls, the iPad can do a lot of things that can drain its battery quickly. This power bank is capable of charging up to three devices at a time, and it’s compatible with more than 1,000 devices, with various iPad models included.

While the Ugreen Nexode 20,000 mAh power bank isn’t particularly cumbersome, it is a little bulkier than other portable power banks on the market. It doesn’t offer the slim design that many smartphone-focused power banks deliver, but it’s still plenty portable and with a total output of 130W, it can deliver more power than many of those power banks. It also has a built-in USB-C cable, so you won’t ever have to dig through a backpack or drawer full of cables when your iPad needs an extra charge. The Ugreen Nexode 20,000 mAh power bank is priced at just $50 at Costco, which is $30 less than its $80 price on the Ugreen website.

The second-generation Apple AirTag isn’t an accessory that was made exclusively to improve the iPad experience, but it is an accessory that can make other aspects of your life better when paired with an iPad. AirTags are small tracking devices that attach to everyday items like purses, backpacks, keys, and wallets. They allow you to track their location through Apple’s Find My app, ensuring you can keep tabs on all of your most important items should they get misplaced, lost entirely, or stolen. Using an iPad for oversight of such items means you’ll have a larger, higher-quality screen at your disposal than if you were to use the Find My app on your iPhone.

Costco doesn’t have AirTag singles available to purchase, which means you have to buy them in bulk. While that may not be favorable to those who only need one or two AirTags at their disposal, it does add some overall value. An Apple AirTag (2nd generation) 4-pack is priced at $100, and Costco even throws in a fifth AirTag at no cost. This compares well to pricing at Apple, which has the 4-pack at $99 without a freebie thrown in. For those shopping for iPad accessories on a budget, Costco also has an Apple AirTag (1st generation) 4-pack available for $80.

Selecting impactful iPad accessories comes down to understanding how people actually use the device on a daily basis. Drawing on our own experiences with various iPad models as well as our general tech expertise, we looked at what Costco currently has available in its iPad accessory lineup and chose the products most likely to improve the way iPad users work, create, and go about their day. Each accessory provides a way to level up the iPad experience, whether that’s through the creative process, daily productivity, extended battery life, or the security of belongings.