As much as I love my little '08 Honda Fit, the stereo system has no auxiliary input or Bluetooth functionality—causing me to play podcasts and music directly from my iPhone. Even cranked up it can be hard to hear the audio at times, which is why the upcoming Amp case for iPhone looks interesting to me.

It fits over an iPhone (5, 5s, 6, or 6 Plus) like any other case, connecting to its Lightning port along the way. From there, it uses an embedded Cortex-M4 processor and companion app to listen to your environment and tailor the 24-bit digital audio that it then pumps through its dual speakers—each of which houses a 14x20mm driver. On top of that, the case's built-in battery provides an additional 20-25% battery life when the iPhone needs it most. It's a bit bulky as cases go, but the added functionality is worth it.

As of this writing (October 12th, 2014) there are 11 days left to pre-order the Amp case for $69, after which it will go up to $129. Comes in black or white.