Apple’s latest limited‑edition iPhone accessory, the Hikawa Phone Grip & Stand, has gone from niche design collab to headline news in just a few days. Launched this week to mark 40 years of Apple’s accessibility work, the MagSafe‑compatible grip is already listed as sold out in its first run on Apple’s U.S. online store, underlining both its hype and its scarcity. [1]
Today, 22 November 2025, coverage across tech and design outlets is converging on the same story: Apple isn’t just selling another quirky add‑on — it’s turning accessibility‑focused hardware into a design statement, while continuing a mini‑spree of expensive, limited‑run iPhone accessories. [2]
What is the Hikawa Phone Grip & Stand?
The Hikawa Phone Grip & Stand is a chunky, sculptural attachment that snaps onto the back of any MagSafe‑compatible iPhone (iPhone 12 and newer) using magnets. Once attached, it does two jobs:
- works as an ergonomic grip, and
- folds out into a stand for both portrait and landscape viewing at two different angles. [3]
Key specs and details, as reported by Apple and multiple outlets: [4]
- Price: $69.95 (US)
- Attachment: MagSafe (no adhesive)
- Materials: soft‑touch premium silicone
- Size: roughly 3.1 x 2.3 inches
- Colors at Apple:
- Chartreuse – a bold, high‑visibility neon green
- Crater – a speckled, recycled-looking finish
- Additional colors on Hikawa’s own site: more artistic finishes like cobalt‑style blues and swirly mixes, sold under a slightly different product name but the same core design. [5]
Visually, the grip is a ridged, triangular‑ish shape with a large central opening that’s meant to accommodate different finger positions — thumb through the center, fingers hooked around the outside, or a hand resting across the top. [6]
Accessibility at the Center, Not an Afterthought
Unlike most generic phone grips, this one was designed from the ground up as an adaptive accessory.
Artist and industrial designer Bailey Hikawa spent months interviewing iPhone users with a range of disabilities — including severe arthritis, tendonitis, and other conditions affecting grip, dexterity, and muscle strength — to understand exactly how they hold their phones, where strain builds up, and which motions hurt. She then fed that research into the final geometry of the grip and its cut‑out center. [7]
According to Apple’s accessibility materials and Hikawa’s own comments, the goals were to: [8]
- Reduce the effort required to keep an iPhone steady
- Support multiple ways of holding the phone, depending on range of motion
- Offer a more secure hold with minimal tension for people with limited hand strength
- Double as a hands‑free stand so users don’t have to grip the phone for long periods
Apple’s longtime head of accessibility, Sarah Herrlinger, describes the grip as a natural extension of the company’s longstanding push for inclusive hardware and software — standing alongside features like built‑in screen readers, switch control, and third‑party assistive devices such as Braille displays and sip‑and‑puff controllers. [9]
The striking design isn’t just for aesthetics either: the neon Chartreuse is intentionally high‑visibility, making the grip easier to spot in a bag or on a cluttered table, which can be helpful for users with low vision. [10]
A Second Limited‑Edition Accessory in Apple’s “Designer iPhone” Spree
The Hikawa grip isn’t arriving in a vacuum. It follows hot on the heels of Apple’s collaboration with Issey Miyake on the 3D‑knitted “iPhone Pocket”, a cross‑body pouch that debuted earlier this month. That accessory started at $149.95 and went up to about $229.95 for longer versions — and it also sold out quickly. [11]
Tech sites have noted that the Hikawa grip is: [12]
- Apple’s second limited‑edition iPhone accessory in November
- Part of a push into art‑driven, high‑priced “statement” accessories
- Still expensive at $69.95, but relatively “reasonable” when compared with the Issey Miyake pouch
NotebookCheck, for instance, frames the Hikawa grip as the latest entry in an “expensive iPhone accessory spree,” openly comparing it to much cheaper MagSafe grips and PopSocket‑style accessories available for a fraction of the price. [13]
Today’s Update (22 November 2025): First Run Already Sold Out
As of today, November 22, 2025, the big development is simple: you probably can’t buy one from Apple right now.
- Appleosophy reports that the Hikawa Phone Grip & Stand is sold out on Apple’s U.S. online store, after launching at $69.95 in Chartreuse and Crater. [14]
- iClarified, in a piece published today, notes that the grip’s first production run is already listed as sold out, even as Apple continues to highlight it in marketing around accessibility. [15]
Neither Apple nor Hikawa has announced whether more stock is coming, but given the “limited edition” framing and the precedent set by the Miyake iPhone Pocket — which vanished from stores within hours — scarcity is clearly part of the story. [16]
Praise for Inclusive Design — and Pushback on Pricing
Coverage and commentary over the last 48 hours shows a pretty clear split:
What people like
- Accessibility‑first design: Tech and culture outlets are broadly positive about the way this accessory puts disability‑centered ergonomics in the spotlight instead of as an afterthought. [17]
- Artistic collaboration: From Elle Decor to The Verge, writers highlight how Hikawa’s sculptural aesthetic pushes Apple’s normally minimalist hardware into more experimental territory. [18]
- Useful for everyone, not just disabled users: Articles from The Gadgeteer and TechTimes point out that while the grip is tuned for people with limited strength or dexterity, anyone who struggles to hold larger phones for long periods can benefit. [19]
What people don’t like
- The $69.95 price tag: Comment sections and forums are full of people questioning why a simple silicone grip costs so much when basic MagSafe grips on Amazon cost $10–$25. [20]
- Limited availability: The “limited edition” label plus rapid sell‑out has sparked frustration among users who actually need accessibility accessories but now face resale mark‑ups or long waits. [21]
- Perception of “disability tax”: Some critics argue that high prices on adaptive accessories create a barrier for disabled users, even when the design work is genuinely thoughtful. That concern is being voiced in coverage and user comments, even if Apple hasn’t addressed it directly. [22]
Who Is Bailey Hikawa?
Today’s coverage has also thrust Bailey Hikawa herself into the mainstream spotlight: [23]
- She’s a Los Angeles‑based artist and industrial designer who started making surreal, 3D phone cases around 2019.
- Her designs — think lashes, fake spaghetti, and other sculptural elements — began as art pieces but quickly gained a following as conversation‑starter phone cases.
- Over time, customers with disabilities reached out to say those designs were unexpectedly ergonomic and easier to hold, nudging Hikawa toward a more explicit focus on accessibility.
That background made the Apple partnership logical: the Hikawa Phone Grip & Stand is essentially the point where her art‑object accessories and Apple’s formal accessibility program meet in a single product. [24]
Hikawa has said this is only the beginning, hinting at “many more offerings for all kinds of bodies” in future projects. [25]
How the Hikawa Grip Compares to Regular MagSafe Grips
If you strip away the branding, how different is this from any other MagSafe grip?
Similarities [26]
- Attaches magnetically via MagSafe
- Doubles as a stand
- Pops off without leaving residue
- Works across iPhone sizes (mini to Pro Max)
Key differences
- Ergonomic geometry:
- The large central opening and ridged outer shape are tuned for users with limited range of motion or strength.
- It’s designed to allow multiple, low‑tension hand positions instead of just one “correct” grip.
- Accessibility‑driven design process:
- Hikawa’s interviews and Apple’s accessibility team were involved from concept through to final product, not tacked on at the end. [27]
- Limited‑edition status:
- Unlike generic grips you can buy indefinitely, the Hikawa accessory appears to be produced in small runs and marketed more like a collectible collaboration than a permanent accessory line. [28]
- Price and brand halo:
- You’re paying both for the design process and the Apple x artist collab label — a pattern we’ve already seen with the Issey Miyake iPhone Pocket. [29]
Can You Still Buy the Hikawa Grip?
As of November 22, 2025:
- Apple Online Store (U.S.):
- The first run is reported sold out in both Chartreuse and Crater. [30]
- Potential restocks:
- Apple hasn’t announced more stock, but previous “limited” accessories have sometimes returned in small waves. Watching Apple’s official product page and Newsroom is your best bet. [31]
- Bailey Hikawa’s own site:
- Hikawa continues to sell related adaptive grips and stands in additional colors and finishes, though availability and exact designs may differ from the Apple‑branded versions. [32]
For those who mainly care about function rather than collectibility or design pedigree, there are cheaper MagSafe grips and stands on the market. However, reviewers note that many of those weren’t created with the same depth of disability‑focused research — and may not accommodate the same range of hand positions or strength levels. [33]
Why This Small Accessory Matters
On paper, the Hikawa Phone Grip & Stand is “just” a silicone lump with magnets. But the reaction around it this week highlights a bigger shift:
- Accessibility as a headline feature, not a footnote
Mainstream tech coverage is leading with the product’s adaptive design, not merely its aesthetic. [34] - Designer collabs moving into assistive tech
Apple’s pairing of high‑end designers (first Issey Miyake, now Bailey Hikawa) with functional, everyday accessories shows that assistive hardware can be both beautiful and useful. [35] - A test case for pricing and access
The mixed reaction to a $69.95 “adaptive” grip raises tough questions: how do you balance paying creators fairly, funding research‑heavy design, and making sure disabled users can actually afford the products? [36]
As Apple and other tech giants continue to mark accessibility milestones, the Hikawa Phone Grip & Stand may end up remembered less for its scarcity than for what it represents: a small but visible step toward treating inclusive design as worthy of premium, spotlighted hardware — and a reminder that accessibility still has to grapple with affordability and availability.
References
1. www.macrumors.com, 2. www.notebookcheck.net, 3. www.apple.com, 4. www.apple.com, 5. www.notebookcheck.net, 6. www.elledecor.com, 7. www.elledecor.com, 8. www.apple.com, 9. www.elledecor.com, 10. www.notebookcheck.net, 11. www.notebookcheck.net, 12. www.notebookcheck.net, 13. www.notebookcheck.net, 14. appleosophy.com, 15. www.iclarified.com, 16. appleosophy.com, 17. www.techbuzz.ai, 18. www.elledecor.com, 19. the-gadgeteer.com, 20. www.notebookcheck.net, 21. www.iclarified.com, 22. forums.appleinsider.com, 23. www.elledecor.com, 24. www.elledecor.com, 25. www.elledecor.com, 26. www.notebookcheck.net, 27. www.elledecor.com, 28. www.macrumors.com, 29. www.notebookcheck.net, 30. appleosophy.com, 31. www.apple.com, 32. www.notebookcheck.net, 33. www.notebookcheck.net, 34. www.theverge.com, 35. www.notebookcheck.net, 36. forums.appleinsider.com
