Hands-On With Belkin's New iPhone Continuity Camera Mount for Mac Desktops and Displays

[thebryceman]

$40?! I’ll wait for an AliExpress knockoff…

ETA: No need to wait. They already exist for just over $8.

Yep, and 3rd party ones on Amazon for less than half price too. At $39.95 Belkin’s should have had a built in MagSafe charger too.

 

[iGeek2014]

Is it compatible with the M1 iMac specifically? The apple.com website only lists compatible iPhones.

So long as your Apple device supports Ventura you’ll be good.

 

[Wingsley]

One serious question: A few months ago, I bought a brand-new iPhone SE (3). Is there some kind of adaptor available to use my SE as a "Continuity Camera"?

 

[Rafterman]

Is this really so important - to have such a high resolution camera - that the built in webcams aren't sufficient? I know, to each their own, but still...seems pointless to me.

 

[ErikGrim]

Search Continuity Magsafe Mount on Amazon. There's a nice variant that I got made of machined aluminum with a permanent adhesive to attach to the back of the monitor. The part that attaches to the phone rotates for portrait/landscape, as well as tilting up/down. The whole mount also rotates out of the way so it's not visible when not in use. Also no lip hanging over the front of the display. Overall a much better design for my purposes (a fixed home office setup) and cheaper--there's usually one company selling it for $15 at any given time, e.g.
E.g.

CloudValley Magnetic Laptop Phone Holder, Adjustable Continuity Camera Mount Compatible with MagSafe & for iOS 16 / macOS 13 Ventura, Slim Portable Computer Expansion Bracket for Smartphone, Black

Compatibility: CloudValley magnetic Laptop Phone Holder for iPhone 15 Pro Max / 15 Plus / 15 Pro / 15 / 14 Pro Max / 14 Plus / 14 Pro / 14 / 13 Pro Max / 13 Pro / 13 / 13 Mini / 12 Pro Max / 12 Pro / 12 / 12 Mini and Applicable to MagSafe Cases.

www.amazon.com

(I have a Speck MagSafe case on there in this pic)
View attachment 2132407

Would this work on an imac with a curved back though?

 

[Juiceboy]

the edge case for this whole scenario seems so WTF.
You gotta be on your PC
You gotta not want to use your built in webcam
You gotta buy the dongle thing (and actually have it ready if you're on macbook)
You need to have a mag safe case
You need to be on a video phone call app
You can't use your phone whilst on the video call.

There just seems to be so many barriers that who would ever want to do this?

It's neat, that's for sure. Practical. No.

 

[darngooddesign]

the edge case for this whole scenario seems so WTF. You gotta be on your PC

Thats like saying that connecting your PC to a display is an edge-case because you have to be on your PC to use the display. But yes, you have to be on your PC to make video calls from your PC; lots of people do this.

You gotta not want to use your built in webcam

Apple Studio, Mac Mini, MacBooks in clamshell mode, external displays without webcams, or lower quality webcams, like older macs, will benefit from this.

You gotta buy the dongle thing (and actually have it ready if you're on macbook)

Yes, you need to buy a bracket to hold the phone. Lots of people plug things into their MacBook, like a display, hub, etc., so why would placing a bracket on top off the screen be any different.

You need to have a mag safe case

You don't need a MagSafe case if your phone has MagSafe, but you can get MagSafe cases for older non-MagSafe phones. Or buy a non-magsafe bracket.

You need to be on a video phone call app

Similarly you need to be in a web browser to surf the web. CC works with video call apps or video call websites.

You can't use your phone whilst on the video call.

Personally, I can survive not answering a phone call while on a video call. Browsing and messages are already on my computer so its not like I am without a method of communication.

There just seems to be so many barriers that who would ever want to do this?

I don't see many actual barriers.

It's neat, that's for sure. Practical. No.

Remember when we loved Apple because they would develop neat features you might not use all the time, but now we nitpick them.

 

[dpfenninger]

Looks like this is not currently available from the Apple Store or from Belkin directly. Anyone have a good recommendation for a similar product on Amazon? Most mounts seem to be geared toward laptops, so something that fits on top of an Intel iMac chassis would be ideal.

 

[testcard]

Strangely this is still available in the UK Apple Store where I bought mine a couple of weeks ago when it first appeared over here.