iPhone Speakers

Another holiday shopping season is upon us but that doesn't mean you need to go broke buying the latest iPhone accessories. Not everyone is an audiophile and needs a $200 on a Bluetooth speaker to listen to music while in the shower. Whether you're looking for a way to blast the latest tunes, or listen to podcasts while you cook, there are a lot of decent speakers available for around $100 or less. Here are a few affordable options that will make you the hero of the holidays, and save you some extra money so you can buy something nice for yourself.

If you want to play music from your iPhone or iPad through a speaker, any of Amazon's Alexa devices can be used as one. All you have to do is pair your iPhone or iPad with an Amazon Echo, Echo Dot or Tap and voilà, you have yourself a speaker. It doesn't have to be your Amazon device and you don't need the Alexa app either. Here's how to do it:

Apple may be working on headphones that double as loudspeakers, as revealed by the recent patent titled "Dual mode headphones and methods for constructing the same". US Patent Number 9,565,490 is dated February 7, 2017 and shows designs similar to current Beats headphones and EarPods. The difference is that flipping the speakers around converts them into amplified speakers for in-room listening.

JBL is now accepting pre-orders for two new iPhone 5 speaker docks with built in Lightning connectors. The OnBeat Micro is a portable speaker dock with up to five hours of battery life. It also features a USB port for compatibility with other devices, and it weights just 0.8 pounds for easy travel. It's compatible with all current iPhone and iPod models.

The OnBeat Venue Lightning is a wireless speaker with Lightning connector for the iPhone 5 and iPad mini. The Venue can wirelessly stream music from any Bluetooth device, and features HARMAN TrueStream audio technology.

The OnBeat Micro is priced at $99.95 and the OnBeat Venue Lighning will set you back $199.95.