The Hikawa Grip & Stand is a MagSafe accessory for people living with a wide range of disabilities affecting grip strength, finger mobility, and hand size. Designed by LA-based Bailey Hikawa, it has grooves and angles shaped to make the iPhone’s slab shape more accessible.

After all, we don’t think about it that much but the form all smartphones have converged towards — sleek glass block, no edges, few grip points — assumes a particular kind of hand. A hand with enough grip strength, all of the fingers, and an average size. For millions of people with disabilities that affect their hand or their movements, that assumption can be misplaced, and a source of frustration.

The Hikawa Grip & Stand for iPhone was built through direct conversation with people living with disabilities and it’s meant to help users hold their iPhone in whatever way actually works for them. It proves that, if embedded in the design process soon enough, accessibility can be an empowering element and a part of a design brief, not just an afterthought or a constraint.

The grip is now available worldwide for the first time and comes in three new colors developed in collaboration with PopSockets, bringing adaptive design into mainstream retail. 

The announcement and promotion by Apple coincides with the company’s broader accessibility push for Global Accessibility Awareness Day (May 21). Along with the grip’s global availability, Apple previewed new Apple Intelligence features for accessibility, with new AI functionalities coming to VoiceOver, Magnifier, and Voice Control on iPhone and iPad.