MagSafe car mount technology was developed by Apple and launched in the iPhone 12 series and then in all of the subsequent generations of iPhones that followed. It’s a form of induction charging that can deliver fast 15-watt charging (about twice that of phones with traditional Qi wireless charging). Essentially, MagSafe-compatible accessories and MagSafe-enabled technology allow users to charge wirelessly, attach protective cases, and more to their iPhones, which means you can keep your phone fully charged while using it on the move. Whether you’re using your phone for in-car entertainment to play music or using a maps app (which can be a drain on the battery), the MagSafe tech will keep you charged.
MagSafe-compatible car mounts differ from ordinary phone holders in that they help you keep your MagSafe phone charged while on the road and firmly and safely hold your phone in place. You simply place your phone on the charger pad, and the MagSafe battery pack positions and holds your phone in place while allowing the device to be charged inductively.
The best MagSafe car mount at a glance
MagSafe technology isn’t exclusive to iPhones; many other manufacturers like Google and Samsung are now equipping their devices with it. So, let’s take a look at some of the best MagSafe car mounts available.
How we tested the MagSafe car mounts
Each of the phone mounts we tried was tried and tested on a 2018 Volvo V60. Each device either had an air vent mount, sticking, or suction mount along with clamps or a magnetic base. We placed each of the mounts in two places in the cabin of the vehicle to see which would work best; this consisted of the right-side vent next to the driver’s door and the centre air vent above all the buttons and switchgear.
We eventually found that the centre air vent was the best place for these mounts in our test vehicle, but it could may well be different for yours. With that in mind, we recommend checking out your vehicle before placing a phone mount to see what works for you.
If the mount requires a compatible, magnetic phone case to stick to the mount, we were provided with those that fitted our phones from the manufacturer to ensure a fair test. Most of the mounts we tested even have charging capabilities, so we took the power in Watts (W) of the devices into account and tested to see how long it took each one could charge up a Samsung S22 as and when it needed to be.
Before considering a MagSafe car mount or indeed any phone mount, have a good look around your car’s cabin and work out where one will be best placed. Every car make and models’ interiors are different, and will suit different places to rest your phone mount. The crucial element – if you’re looking for one with charging capabilities – is to find out whether the cable can reach your car’s nearest USB socket. As we found out on this test, that wasn’t quite so easy for some of our test subjects in our Volvo.
What we look for in MagSafe car mounts
Primarily, we’re looking for stability. The last thing you want after spending £20+ on a MagSafe mount is for your phone to drop off or the clamps to break. So, we’ll be looking into how well the phone mount secures in place, whether it be via the air vent or on the windscreen.
Secondly, charging capability: we’ve been sent examples from each manufacturer that sit roughly in the middle of the range, so how well and/or quickly they can charge our sample phone will be considered, along with value for money for the brand’s model(s) and how much power the mount allows.
Lastly, we’re looking for ease of use. How easy is it to handle the mounts and connect them up to our test vehicle? That’s what we’ll be delving into on each of the mounts and finding out how each one performs from a user perspective.
The best MagSafe car mounts tested 2025
Tested product
The best MagSafe car mount
Rrp: $69.99
Rrp: $69.99
For one thing, the build quality and materials of the BoostCharge are both chic and would not look out of place in any executive German saloon car. It is an Audi A7 of the phone mount market, and the overall design proves it. You do need a magnetic case if you're attaching an android phone to the mount, but this goes for all MagSafe and other general magnetic phone mounts.
What's more, the cable is long enough to reach our test vehicle's 12V socket comfortably. It stretches out at 1.5m, so it's fine it you wish to attach it to the centre air vent of a vehicle. If however, you want to place it on the side vent and don't immediately have access to a USB-C socket which this mount comes with, then you're going to find things tricky.
Being a 15W unit, the charging speed is decent. A charge of a Samsung S22 from around 30-80% happened relatively quickly on a 30-minute round run. Talking of driving around, over rough surfaces, I found the stability of the device as well as its magnetic strength to be great. It held itself in the air vent very well and you don't even have to manually clamp it into place.
Because you don't have to manually clamp it (you just slide and push the mount into the air vent), it's a lot less fiddly to live with if you regularly take on/off your phone mount. As someone who likes to leave things out of sight in a vehicle when parked up, I value the simplicity of the Belkin very much.
Review by Aaron Hussain
Pros
- The build quality and materials are clearly premium
- It's very easy to install and take off again
- Strong magnetic hold and stable over rough roads
Cons
- You do need at least a magnetic case for it to work
| Power | 15W |
| Case needed | Yes |
| Type | Magnetic |
| Dimensions | 10.9 x 10.4 x 7.1cm |
| Weight | 160g |
| Cable length | 152cm |
Tested product
Editor's pick
I was majorly impressed by just how simple it is to set up. The charging cable is attached to the device, so there's no fear of losing it. It's nice and compact, so it doesn't obstruct a large area of your vehicle's cabin. It's proven to be an immensely useful bit of kit. Over rough and uneven roads, it struggles to shake off the phone thanks to the magnetic field being quite strong. The build quality feels nice and premium as well; it's subtle enough to blend in with your dashboard, and durable enough to last for a very long time without breaking. It even charges up to 15W.
There are however, a couple of drawbacks: because the rotating arm isn't long enough, you can't really mount it on an angled windscreen. We tried doing so with our Volvo test vehicle and it was impossible to get the phone itself facing directly vertical. You therefore have to resort to the dashboard, and this won't be everyone's ideal preference.
Secondly, the charging cable couldn't reach the USB port of our test vehicle. The Volvo's lives underneath the armrest at a horizontal angle, which I admit isn't the industry standard on today's cars, but it could be a deal breaker for some consumers. Even if I placed it in the middle of the dashboard, it struggles somewhat to slot in place. Our advice therefore is to look where the USB/USB-C ports of your vehicle are before investing in one of these.
Review by Aaron Hussain
Pros
- Premium-feeling build quality and materials
- Strong magnetic connection with compatible Mous phone case
- Easily sticks into place, no matter where you place it
Cons
- Cable will be too short for some vehicles
- Can't really be mounted on the windscreen
| Power | Up to 15W |
| Case needed | Yes |
| Type | Magnetic |
| Dimensions | 6.3 x 1.1 x 2.7cm |
| Weight | 57.5g |
| Cable length | 120cm |
Tested product
The best value car phone charger
The answer is pretty confidently. The rubber grips on the end of each clamp very firmly held the phone in place, and over rough or uneven road surfaces, it showed no sign of giving up by whichever method you chose to place it. Although on a personal level, I felt the air vent clips were a little more secure than the provided suction mounts.
As for charging speed, it displayed a good performance with a relatively quick recharge pace between roughly 30-80% on our test. However, I'm not keen on the cheap, plasticky feel of the Groov-e device. It's obvious that at this price-point, it's manufactured down to a certain cost, but some elements of it do feel quite low-rent and I feel more could've been done to make it feel more solid. But this is nit-picking for what is, overall, a really neat phone charging mount and one that shouldn't be ignored when you go shopping.
Review by Aaron Hussain
Pros
- Can comfortably fit most smartphones between the grippy clamps
- Decent charging pace with 15W at hand
- Choice between suction mount and air vent clip
Cons
- The feel of it is a bit low-rent
| Power | 15W |
| Case needed? | No |
| Type | Clamps |
| Dimensions | 7.5 x 17.5 x 10cm |
| Weight | 185g |
| Cable length | 100cm |
Tested product
Best budget car phone holder
This is all thanks to a couple of clamps which help secure your phone in place. In theory, you could store anything between them, so long as it held properly. I used this mount extensively over a 50-mile journey and found the charging to be not only fast between approximately 25-80% charge, but also the mount itself coped well over rough and uneven roads.
The cost-effectiveness of the Groov-e is balanced out by the plastics and clamping mechanism feeling rather on the budget end of the spectrum. It's a much cheaper device than the Mous mounts, and it shows once you get fiddly with setting your smartphone up.
Review by Aaron Hussain
Pros
- Very easy to use and should fit most smartphones
- Quick enough charging speed with 15W on hand
- Comes with either vent clip or suction mount, depending on your preference
Cons
- Some elements feel budget-orientated
| Power | 15W |
| Case needed? | No |
| Type | Clamps |
| Dimensions | 7.5 x 17.5 x 10cm |
| Weight | 181g |
| Cable length | 100cm |
Recommended product
The best MagSafe car mount for fast charging
Pros
- Capable of fast charging
- Strong magnetic mount
- Good build quality and materials
Cons
- Supplied cable may be too short for some installations
| Power | 15W |
| Case needed? | Yes |
| Type | Magnetic |
| Dimensions | 8 x 8 x 3.2cm |
| Weight | 156g |
| Cable length | 100cm |
FAQs and things to remember with MagSafe phone mounts and other types
How does a MagSafe charger work?
Thanks to the magnets around the charging coil in the back of your iPhone, MagSafe accessories like chargers automatically engage in perfect alignment, so the system works automatically. Apple designed the MagSafe charger standard so that only certified MagSafe chargers and accessories will magnetically attach to it so that other magnetic devices won’t get attracted to or stuck to your phone.
While the MagSafe charger can charge recent iPhones, starting with the iPhone 8, it is only optimized for models that feature the magnetic charging coil on the back of the phone, which include the iPhone 12 and later models.
For best results, it is recommended that you plug your MagSafe charger into its power source before attaching the iPhone. This allows the two devices to engage and set the charging wattage properly. This means your phone will charge at top speed.
What’s the difference between wireless charging and MagSafe?
Wireless charging using the Qi standard built into iPhones, Android, and other devices has existed for years. Although convenient, it’s not that efficient. There’s no way to know how well you’ve aligned the phone and charger, but you only get the maximum charging speed when perfectly aligned — even slightly off, and the charging speed reduces dramatically. MagSafe solves that problem by ensuring the phone and charger perfectly align with the magnets surrounding the charging coil.
Do magnetic car mounts work with cases?
The simple answer is yes: a lot of phone cases will be compatible with what are MagSafe phone mounts. We were kindly provided with a couple of Mous cases along with our test mounts, and they obviously worked together seamlessly.
We also tried the Belkin phone mount with one of the Mous cases, and they worked perfectly with each other. Some of these magnetic/MagSafe compatible phone cases aren’t cheap though, so you should factor in this cost when it comes to buying any magnetic/MagSafe phone mount for your vehicle.
Are magnetic car mounts safe for phones?
Yes, they’re absolutely safe for phones. iPhones are designed with MagSafe technology from the off, and any phone is perfectly safe in a compatible, secure case. The only thing you really have to compromise on is the possible lack of charging speed compared to your standard provided charger, and potentially a hindrance to your vehicle’s ergonomics.
For the latter reason, we recommend that you examine your car’s cabin to see where a phone mount can be efficiently placed, while having easy access to the nearest USB/12V charging port and also not being a distraction while driving along.
With the Volvo V60 that we tried these phone mounts in, we found the best place was the vent in the centre of the dashboard. With a mount placed there, you could still see the road ahead easily while also having relatively easy access to the 12V socket – although weirdly, it’s placed under the centre armrest.
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