How I learned to love an obnoxious phone grip

November 4, 2026 Allison Johnson

Hot dog PopSocket on a Pixel phone.
Have a little treat. | Photo: Allison Johnson / The Verge

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 …

Read the full story at The Verge.

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