If you’re using your smartphone
for GPS directions but leaving it in your lap or cupholder, it’s time
to get a phone holder for your car. These mounts allow you to position a
smartphone within line of sight—and keep it out of your hands, thus
avoiding a ticket in some states. The best phone holder isn’t the
same for everyone, however. Car manufacturers not only use different
types of vents, but they mix up the positions of both CD players and
vents too. States also have different laws for what can be attached to a
windshield (and where). Accordingly, our list of the
best phone mounts doesn’t single out just one or two picks. Instead,
we’re sharing the most convenient and reliable models as a group after
putting them to the test in a variety of cars.
Note: For this first round
of evaluations, we’ve focused on vent and CD slot mounts, as windshield
mounts are illegal in many states.
Best phone mounts and holders for cars
BE Universal Smartphone Car Air Vent Mount
Tested on a car with vertical vents.
The
BE Universal Smartphone Car Air Vent Mount is the rare phone holder
that works well with vertical-slat vents. It locks onto your car with a
small clip that is tightened by first turning and then pressing down–and
it hangs on very tightly. In over nine months of use, I haven’t had to
readjust it once.
It also grips to phones firmly, no matter how
you rotate the 360-degree ball joint. Supported sizes are phones ranging
between 1.9 to 3.7 inches in width, which covers all current iPhones
and most Android models.
Overall construction is solid as well.
BE Universal uses a rigid, dense plastic, lined with soft foam pads that
cushion and protect your phone from scratches.
This mount’s only
downsides are an incompatability with round vents, and its larger size.
If those aren’t issues, this inexpensive phone holder is a great
option. –Dan Masaoka
iOttie Easy One Touch 4 Air Vent Mount
Tested in a car with horizontal vents.
iOttie’s
Easy One Touch 4 Air Vent Mount ($24.95 MSRP; $19.95 on Amazon) is a
solid pick, both in price and functionality. This mount has two parts,
but it’s very easy to assemble: Just snap the vent clamp into the back
of the phone mount, and attach it to your air vent using the
spring-loaded clamp. The mount keeps your phone in place thanks to two
arms that hug it tightly, using a “lock and release” system.
The
Easy One Touch 4 fits phones between 2.3- and 3.5-inches wide—I tested
it out using an iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X with and without
cases, and it fit the bill for all three of Apple’s current models.
It’ll work just fine for Android phones within that size range, too.
This
iOttie mount held up well during my testing. The hinge continued to
keep my iPhone held upright without sagging, and the mount stayed firmly
clasped to the air vent without falling off due to my phone’s weight.
Plus, it rotates 360-degrees to help you find the perfect viewing angle,
be it in landscape or portrait orientation. –Leah Yamshon
Koomus CD-Air CD Slot Smartphone Car Mount
Tested in a Honda Accord (1999)
Installation of Koomus’s grip-style, CD-slot
mounted phone holder is simple, with just one lever that locks the whole
unit in place. This method still results in a sturdy hold, though–while
Koomus includes three rubber spacers to increase the clamping force, we
didn’t need it. The mount itself can be positioned in a variety of
ways: Its arm tilts up and down, and you can insert it with the mount
pointed up or facing down.
The grip-style clamp has surprisingly light
tension, allowing you to mount a phone with just one hand. It
accommodates larger phones, even with bulkier rugged cases. I
successfully put a Nexus 6P and a Pixel 2 XL in the clamp, though the
Pixel 2 XL in an Otterbox case was the most difficult of the
combinations I tried.
One potential issue with this Koomus model is its
size. It’s quite large, so depending on the placement of your CD
player, it’ll block access to controls. The arm that holds the phone in
place also uses a simple friction ball joint with no ability to increase
tension down the road once it’s worn in. While we had no issues with it
new, we can foresee it drooping eventually. –Gordon Mah Ung
Kenu Airframe+ Smartphone and Phablet Car Mount, Black
Tested on a car with horizontal vents.
Car mounts that just clip onto the slats in your
air-conditioning vent are incredibly convenient. They don’t block your
view or muck up your dashboard with adhesive, and they work with cars
lacking a CD player. And in those blazing summer months, the A/C blowing
right onto the back of your phone will help keep it from overheating.
Kenu makes one of the best grip-style vent clips.
It’s minimalist in design but durable, with a spring-loaded side clip
big enough to fit the even large phones like Plus-model iPhones and
Galaxy Notes. (If you own a phone under 5-inches, you’ll want to buy the
smaller version of this mount.)
The vent clip has grips for thick or thin vent slats, so it’ll work in
most cars. And since it can rotate, you can use it with angled AC vents
or turn your phone to landscape orientation.
At an MSRP of $25, it’s not one of the cheapest
vent mounts on the market. But the durability and careful design are
worth a few extra bucks. –Jason Cross
Spigen Kuel A200 Car Phone Mount Magnetic Air Vent Holder
Tested in a car with round vents.
You’re unlikely to find a more simple, unobtrusive, and inexpensive option than this $8 phone holder.
Slits
on the magnetic mount’s short, rubberized stem allow it to slip onto
your car’s air vent. To attach your phone to the mount, you’ll need to
apply one of the two included metal plates to your phone directly or
slip the plate into your phone’s case.
The magnet combination is
rated to hold today’s largest phones, such as the Galaxy Note 8 or
iPhone X, and in my experience with a Pixel XL, the device remained
secure while making the screen visible as I drove.
The downsides
are that it blocks a vent and/or absorbs any hot or cold air your vent
is emitting. Still, it’s an exceedingly simple solution for making your
phone accessible while you drive. –Katherine Stevenson
Square Jellyfish Jelly Grip Vent Mount for Smartphones
Tested in a car with horizontal vents.
The Square Jellyfish Jelly-Grip Car Vent Mount is
a mouthful, but it’s an excellent smartphone vent mount for your car.
This phone holder uses an adjustable, solid metal hook that extends to
slide through a vent (from 3/8” to 1” deep) and over its horizontal
louvers. Square Jellyfish says that the mount can be used with vertical
louvers, too, though we didn’t test that. If you have round louvers, it
won’t work.
The spring-loaded side grips grab phones up to
six inches wide tightly—almost too tightly. Actually mounting the phone
required placing it face down on a seat and grabbing it with the grips,
then placing the whole contraption within the vent. You can also slide
the phone out to remove it, but be careful of any side-mounted buttons.
The tradeoff? An absolutely secured phone that
isn’t going anywhere. And since the grips swivel on a ball mount, you
can still position your phone for easy viewing. As a final bonus, the
manufacturer offers a lifetime warranty: Send Square Jellyfish a picture
of the problem, and the company will ship a replacement, free of
charge. –Mark Hachman
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