Up next at Toy Fair, a newcomer. I imagine, due to their rapid adaption rate, there are very few people out there who don’t know what a PopSocket is. I fact, I would wager that even those who don’t know what they are called have seen one. For those still in the dark, PopSockets are the new large plastic button-like objects that attach to the back of a cell phone or tablet are then expanded by pulling them out, making it easier to hold your phone when taking selfies or photos. They have quickly become indispensable accessories and the sales numbers have been staggering. 

     At Toy Fair PopSockets was flexing some serious licensing muscle, unveiling Marvel, DC, Harry Potter, Pokémon, Hello Kitty, Stranger Things and major sports team PopSockets. News was also shared that a Disney license has been acquired. They also announced that they were exploring different types of material, including wood and they were considering another partnership with Swarovski.

     I also loved hearing the story of their invention. Beginning life as a way for the inventor to keep his headphone cord from tangling when he went running, the first PopSocket was actually two buttons bought from a local fabric store and glued to the back of his phone case.

     Their popularity has exploded over the last year and now it is more unusual to see a phone without one. It seems that given the success of the aggressive licensing plan, PopSockets plans to be around for quite some time and has designs on being a necessary part of your digital life.

      Here is my Facebook Live walkthrough of PopSockets

And, here’s our photo gallery 

[ngg_images source=”galleries” container_ids=”582″ display_type=”photocrati-nextgen_basic_slideshow” gallery_width=”320″ gallery_height=”240″ cycle_effect=”fade” cycle_interval=”10″ show_thumbnail_link=”1″ thumbnail_link_text=”[Show picture list]” order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”500″]Thanks to Allison Schmitz and Amanda Rubino for their assistance