When to buy Apple’s accessories (and which ones to buy cheaper elsewhere)

Dropping $1,200 on a brand-new iPhone only to have an Apple Store salesperson casually hand you a $49 silicone case and a $39 charging brick feels like a minor mugging. Yes, Apple’s accessory margins are legendary. The company has built a multibillion-dollar side business selling $19 polishing cloths and $39 plastic dongles, banking on the assumption that you will blindly buy official gear for everything just to keep your new device working safely. But that assumption is wrong. At the s...