Mophie Debuts New MagSafe Car Vent Mounts

[ignatius345]

I never could understand "vent" mounts. I don't want my a/c vents blocked. I live in a hot climate, but that's just me. If it works for you, GREAT but really $100?

For me, it's the only spot that really makes sense. I don't like anything up on the dash, and that leaves the cupholder area (way too low to glance at the map), and on my 5 year-old car, the CD mount (puts it a bit far away and blocks climate controls on my dash).

I actually run into more issues in the winter, when hot air is more prone to make my phone too hot. In the summer, the AC keeps the phone frosty and generally I think I'm getting enough cold air to myself through the other vents.

I agree, $100 is absurd, and 15W MagSafe charging feels like overkill. 99% of the time, I'm in the car long enough that high-speed charging is not needed at all. As long as the battery goes UP as I drive, I'm good.

After trying a few different ones, I landed on a lower powered charger that's extremely steady and also lets my phone attach magnetically. I've found that the closer to the vent the mount holds the phone, the better. I had one with a weird clamp that projected the phone out a couple inches, and just because of all that extra leverage the phone was bouncing around all the time. The one I have now has little rubber grips that wedge up against the vent louvers and keep them from moving up and down. I think I paid like $50 for it. We use it daily and it's rock solid, even on crappy roads.

 

[gijsmans]

If you can’t afford a CarPlay car, you also can’t afford a $100 vent mount. Case closed.

 

[jbjarko]

If you can’t afford a CarPlay car, you also can’t afford a $100 vent mount. Case closed.

I don't know about all that..but okay lol. I think $100 for that mount is ridiculous.

 

[DarthDon]

Hopefully they also write on the package, that the fan in the car is meant - not the one at at home.

 

[bmustaf]

Did you read any of the posts from people that use vent mount phone holders? The way you see it is wrong or you have a crappy car. Or you can't figure anything out for yourself.

Sure, maybe my car is "crappy", and, sure, if that makes you feel better, maybe I can't "figure out anything for myself".

More likely, however, is that you're taking a tongue-in-cheek comment (which specifically was *only* about how I see it, great, you see it differently, so you think that's a good reason to make personal attacks?) and telling a guy who has been in engineering for 20+ years that he can't figure it out and his Range Rover SVR is "crappy" (and making yourself look pretty salty in the process).

So, really, which ever works for you is cool: but the fact remains (and has nothing to do with my stupidity or inability to do anything right) you lose tons of airflow with these solutions, and in the $100 range, you're now getting into territory with far better solutions. That's just a fact.

 

[_Spinn_]

My Belkin MagSafe vent mount looks much better than these.

Same, I’ve been very happy with mine.

 

[cyberlocke]

Zagg is doing 40% off sitewide for Memorial day, so the wireless charging model is only $60.

 

[coolfactor]

The world continues to lose its mind. $40 for a bit of plastic (and metal?). No thanks.

 

[coolfactor]

It's shocking to me that no one has created a MagSafe car charger that plugs into (and draws power) from the 12v (cigarette lighter) outlet that most cars have.

It could have a short but flexible stem with no additional wires, nothing hanging off your vents, just your phone magically and magnetically connected to your dash or console.

There are a couple of junk ones on Amazon, but they all require separate cables. Seems like a no brainer to use the 12v outlet as both a powersource and a place to securely house and hold the charger.

In modern cars, the cigarette lighter is often not in an accessible spot. In our car, there's one deep in the front console, one in the centre storage compartment, and one at the back of the car. They are only there for compatibility with existing gear, not to power cigarette lighters.

 

[gadgetfreak98]

I got a cheap (~$10) vent mount for an official Apple MagSafe pick and an on sale Anker USB-C PD 12V plug. Have had this since my iPhone 12 Pro Max and it’s been rock solid. The phone has literally never fallen off — and we are in a rough riding old BMW (to which I retrofitted wireless CarPlay). Together these upgrades took a technologically archaic car and refreshed the day to day experience completely.

At the time I chose this charging setup the Belkin mount was non-powered. But I saved a decent chunk of change and get 15W to boot. Never had an issue with overheating and I’m in the northeast so heating is a real thing.

May not be your ideal solution but we love it. Get in the car, hit start, pop the phone on the mount, CarPlay comes up and we are on the way.

 

[Gengar]

I bought this one from Amazon and it works just fine.

It’s worth $25 dollars and the magnets are very strong. I wouldn’t overpay for one of these mounts.

 

[svish]

$100 for the wireless charging mount is quite high.

 

[beanbaguk]

What a joke! There are tons of these MagSafe mounts on Amazon for just $25 which both charge and swivel. I've got one on my wife's car.

If you want it for $20 or less, just follow on to AliExpress.

$100 is an absolute pee-take. Companies like this shouldn't exist. They take AliExpress designs, tweak them slightly, add their name and claim it as their own with a big price tag on the end.

 

[Colpeas]

I wonder when did the world collectively decide that it’s better to break your A/C vent fins under weight of phones that get heavier by the year, than to use windshield mounts. Nowadays it’s almost impossible to find a decent mount with a good ol’ suction cup…

 

[Ntombi]

I was getting impatient waiting for iOttie to release their MagSafe compatible charging mount, so I bought a cheap one off the (not Amazon) cheap site in December 2020.

To my surprise, it has been great! It has the same secure vent attachment that Mophie uses, and has never fallen once. Charges exactly like it should, the magnet holds my iPhone 14 Pro like a champ, and it’s still going strong after 2.5 years.

I think I paid $25 for it.

I tried the Belkin vent mount when it came out, and ended up selling it to a friend and going back to my knockoff no-name.

As for using the vent, it’s great for keeping it cool when the AC is going, and I close that vent when I use the heat. I’ve had no problems with it. I get that some people don’t like vent mounts, and I was skeptical for a while myself, but I much prefer it to windshields, I’m absolutely not giving up a cup holder, and I don’t have any other good spot.

I have an aftermarket wireless CarPlay stereo in my 2007 Corolla, so I don’t use the phone while driving, but this is a good place to keep it charging and within eye-line so I don’t get out of the car without it!

 

[King Cleanass]

Memorial day sale puts it at $60 for the magsafe version. I'll give it a shot.