I’ve spent weeks and hundreds of miles testing car phone holders for iPhones and Android alike, on busy freeways and on potholed city roads. What I found is that the best car phone mounts aren’t necessarily expensive or name brands: They’re just smartly designed.
The best car phone mount for an iPhone is almost always a secure MagSafe mount. The one I keep in my car when I’m not testing other mounts is a sturdy, compact Andery suction mount ($36) that holds preternaturally fast to both my phone and dash but can also be mounted to a window. My favorite mechanical car phone holder for Android phones is a sturdy, versatile, ball-joint mount from Andobil ($30) that affixes tightly to a car’s dash, windshield, or air vents.
Here are the best car phone mounts for each car and phone type. See also WIRED’s guides to the Best USB Car Chargers, Best Portable Jump Starters, Best iPhone Cases and Accessories, Best MagSafe Accessories, and Best Wireless Phone Chargers.
The world is full of bulky phone mounts that block your view of the road, inflexible phone mounts that only allow for horizontal or vertical mounting, weak suction cups, and kinda mid MagSafe attachments. And then there’s this innovatively designed, wonderfully compact dash and window mount from Andery.
On flat surfaces, the nano-gel suction cup holds fast like Hodor at the door. The 22-magnet MagSafe ring allows airflow to avoid overheating, but it also holds stronger than most comparable Qi2 magnets. And unlike bulky plastic mounts, the Andery’s aluminum-arm, stainless steel ring keeps a low profile and interferes minimally with one’s line of sight. In fact, when affixed to my dash, this device doesn’t block my view of the road at all. The ring rotates 360 degrees. The two-joint arm can either fold tightly to the mount or extend outward. No other mount I’ve tested combines all of these virtues.
But note you’ll need a relatively flat surface to get a good bond with the suction cup. I’ve also seen some reports that the suction cup can lose adhesion over time if repeatedly re-mounted (and it’s cussedly difficult to remove in the first place, though it leaves no residue when you do). Non-Qi2-compatible Android phones will need a MagSafe case to be compatible with this car phone holder. But if your phone has a magnet or a magnetic case, this is the simplest and most effective car phone mount I know, and it performs leagues better than other similarly designed car mounts like this one from Acer.
Note also that Andery offers a Qi2-compatible phone charger version at the expense of airflow. I haven’t tested this variant yet.
Mechanical mounts like this one from Andobil—with holders that can be slid in sideways to securely grip the phone—are flexible for a broad range of phones and don’t require MagSafe technology. But they’re also mostly bulky, making them a less preferred option as a windshield or dashboard mount because this will block your field of vision.
Among all similar devices I’ve tested, this one from newer Chinese company Andobil is the most compact I’ve tested when not in use, while still offering a lot of flexibility. The nanogel suction cup on its dash mount is one of the most stable I’ve tested (almost aggressively stuck on, to be honest). And the extendable arm, while plastic, feels less cheap and breakable than other models. The kit also comes with an air vent mount, whose three-point design makes it among the most stable vent mounts I’ve tested and allows you to maneuver the phone so it does not block the vent.
This mechanical car phone holder is hard to call aesthetic. It’s essentially a pad with a gripper on the side. But the grips extend to accommodate even larger phones and are able to keep the phone in place even during vigorous shaking. (If you’re wondering whether I place phones in these phone mounts, and then come at them like they’re a shake weight? I do.) The release button’s a little awkwardly placed, and Andobil’s marketing about “military standards” is a little silly on a low-cost device made with thermoplastics. But after I watched other suction cups wilt in summer heat, this Andobil’s still going strong.
★ A Great, Low-Cost Air Vent Mount: If you’re mounting only to your air vent, the Vanva air vent phone mount ($13) is among the cheapest mounts of any kind that I’ve tested, while ranking among the most secure mechanical mounts. (Actually, I like the mechanical phone holder a bit better than Andobil’s.) The lockable clamp affixes easily and securely to most vertical or horizontal-slatted vents—and unlike hook-based vent mounts, it’s easy to install and remove. The multi-joint ball arm can be maneuvered so you don’t lose airflow from the vent, and the adjustable grips that lock in your phone can be released with a simple button press. This Vanva is a relatively flimsy plastic device, so I don’t rule out that it might break someday. But its inexpensive replacement cost makes this an acceptable risk.
Look, I’ll be honest: I have mixed feelings about chargers on car phone mounts. The mount will have to be plugged into a car charger anyway—and at that point, I might as well just plug in the phone directly, which will usually lead to faster charging.
But convenience is in the eye of the beholder, and many people prefer to just leave the car mount plugged permanently into a car charger so they never have to worry about their phone draining while navigating on a mapping app. For y’all, here’s the car mount from ESR, which offers decently fast 15-watt charging and a cooling fan to mitigate phone overheating.
The suction was effective when attached to both my window and dash, and the device is compact enough to not much hinder my field of view. Charging speed is merely moderate, enough to charge an older iPhone in a couple of hours. ESR also offers a faster-charging Qi2.2 device for twice the money, though I have not tested it.
★ A Good, Stylish Vent Charging Mount: Most vent chargers plant themselves directly into the airflow of your vent. But not all of them do. WIRED editor Julian Chokkattu recommends the Peak Design Car Vent Mount ($100). The mount stays secure on the vent, but an arm allows the charger a little distance from the vent. It’s also a little bit stylish, a rarity for vent mounts. If you’re using a Pixel or Samsung phone, we also like Peak Design’s MagSafe phone cases.
Most people don’t overwhelmingly want their car vent mount to be a defining feature in their car’s interior. This Belkin takes this notion to the extreme. This silver and black air vent mount is minimalist, svelte, and—dare I say—almost classy. It grips phones surprisingly securely for a phone mount without feet to support the phone’s bottom, according to WIRED reviewer Simon Hill, and you can rotate easily from portrait to landscape. There’s also a handy rubber clip to hold charging cables in place. Just note that this will not be the best option for larger or heavier phones.
★ For larger phones: The Kenu Airframe Pro ($30) has a similar design but is built to accommodate thicker cases and larger phones, noted WIRED tester Simon Hill. The ball-and-socket joint allows 360-degree rotation and also lets you angle your phone for better viewing. It’s a bit less sleek, however.
Belkin 15W MagSafe Mount for $80: This Belkin MagSafe charger and vent mount is an older device we’ve recommended previously as a top pick—with a secure magnet pad that offers 15-watt Qi2 charging. The mount positions itself in the air vent and blocks airflow a bit, but on summer days with the air-conditioner running, this positioning can help cool your phone while it charges. It’s also a little bit sleek but also a bit on the spendy side for what it offers.
Andobil MagSafe Air Vent Mount for $37: This vent-mounted MagSafe device looks like a charger but isn’t. The mount’s broad, flat surface does stabilize the phone a bit. But in trade, it blocks airflow both to the phone and from the air vent. For these reasons, it’s not really my favorite design. But the magnet is strong enough to hold the phone in place, and the vent mount is also stable.
iOttie iTap 3 Air Vent Holder for $16: This compact vent mount from iOttie is low-cost, and the MagSafe mount is strong enough. I can hold this thing upside down and shake it without dislodging my phone. But there’s very little range of motion, and the phone can only be mounted where it’ll block airflow from the vent. I also tend not to favor mounting mechanisms that use hooks, because it can make the mounts more difficult to remove when needed—though for unusual air vent geometries, the hook might be the only style of vent mount that works.
iOttie One Touch Dash and Windshield Mount for $28: This dash and windshield mount from iOttie was a favorite of WIRED tester Simon Hill when he tested it two years ago. But there’s been a design update and some reports of durability issues, so until we test the newest model, I’m leaving this in the honorable mentions.
Vanmass Car Phone Holder for $40: Similar to the Andobil I recommend as a top pick, this Vanmass is a ball-socket mount with options for air vent or dashboard/windshield mounting. But it’s a bit bulkier than the Andobil, and the air vent mount is a hook-based mount—which I tend to find more difficult to remove. The suction cup on the dash/windshield mount is ridiculously strong and is unllikely to dislodge even on hot days—and didn’t leave residue when I removed it. But while Vanmass advertises “military-grade” tech, whatever this means for a phone mount, the plastic felt a bit flimsy, especially on a vacuum locking mechanism for the suction cup.
Bokilino Car Cup Mount for $16: This is a different sort of phone mount than most I tested: It affixes to a standard cup holder and holds up your phone like a liberty torch from atop a bendable gooseneck stem. This is all well and good when you’re driving solo, notes WIRED reviewer Kat Merck, but during longer trips with family, it takes up a much-needed cup holder, and the stem can get in the way. In most cars, you’ll have to look a bit too far away from the road to see the screen.
Acer Gadget Car Phone Mount for $28: This little car mount from Acer mirrored the design of my top-pick Andery but fell far short on performance. The suction cup pretty much walked off the job after I removed and replaced it once, the magnet isn’t as strong, and the mounting arm is shorter and doesn’t rotate. There’s no particular reason to buy it in a world where the Andery exists.
iOttie iTap 3 Dash and Windshield Mount for $25: MagSafe car phone mounts from iOttie have one chief merit: The magnet is strong and secure, unlikely to dislodge on even the bumpiest roads. But alas, the same cannot be said for the suction cup on this bulky dash and windshield mount, which gave up the ghost on a hot day.
Scosche Magic Mount for $13: This is maybe the most compact, low-cost MagSafe device I tested. Its S-branded design is both unobtrusive and winningly inscrutable: It looks like a talisman Jor-El might have brought back from Krypton. It’s also the one with the weakest magnet. My iPhone lurched off at minor provocations.
iOttie Wireless 2 Qi Charging Phone Mount for $50: Don’t mistake “Wireless 2 Qi Charger” for a Qi2 charger. A couple of years back, this MagSafe charging mount was a top pick for WIRED, but the charging is now a bit sluggish by modern standards.
Source: www.wired.com
