Keep your phone safely in sight and secure with a car mount.
When you're on the go, your phone is more than just a tool for keeping in touch. It's your road trip playlist and your GPS, too. For safety's sake, mounting your phone to your dashboard, windshield, or air vents is the best way to keep it in view while keeping your hands on the wheel and your eyes on the road. We've gathered up a list of some excellent options for universal car mounts, and trust us, there's no shortage of choices out there.
Note: Before you consider a windshield mount for your phone, you should make and check that windshield mounts are allowed in the states you'll be driving most frequently in. As it stands, most states outlaw windshield mounted GPS or phone holders due to visibility and safety concerns.
Baseus Gravity Air Vent Wireless Car Charger
Baseus's wireless car charger is powerful enough to fast charge compatible Samsung phones, and clips into your air vent so your view of the road is unobstructed. You can also use the AC coming out of those vents to keep your phone cool while it charges, and the gravity-based clamps allow make it ridiculously easy to get your phone in and out while still keeping your phone secure while you drive.
$28 at Amazon
More and more phones are including Qi wireless charging, so if you're in the market for a car mount, you may as well get one that charges your phone while you drive. Rather than having a dot on the back of the mount that triggers the spring-loaded clamps, Baseus uses the weight of the phone on the bottom lip of the mount instead. This makes getting your phone in and out of the mount a breeze, but also means you can only use the Baseus in portrait, not landscape.
iOttie Easy One Touch 4 Car Mount
iOttie has been a leading brand for car mounts for years, and their latest dashboard/windshield mount, the Easy One Touch 4, is the best mount they've ever made. Simply press the tabs on the side of the mount in then tap your phone to the button in the middle of the mount to spring it closed. It's easy to use and can accommodate even the largest phones out there with or without a case.
$25 at Amazon
The Easy One Touch 4 can be oriented any way you like in your car thanks to a swiveling telescopic arm. The suction cup mount that's installed on the mount out of the box is ideal for smooth surfaces such as a windshield, but since that's illegal in most states, iOttie also includes an adhesive pad to help attach the mount to your dashboard.
iOttie Easy One Touch Qi Wireless Fast Charge CD Slot
Everything we said about how easy iOttie's One Touch 4 is to use above is just as true with this CD-slot-mounted model, so you won't have to fiddle with your phone every time you hop in for a drive. Fast wireless charging capabilities double the price, but it also doubles the convenience of charging your phone every time you plop it in the charger.
$50 at Amazon
iOttie gets another mention on our list because they make great car mounts, and this one clips into the CD slot you haven't used in ten years. This not only takes advantage of an otherwise unused space in your car, but — depending on the layout of your dash — keeps your view of the road unobstructed. Qi wireless charging embedded in this charger supports fast wireless charging on compatible Samsung devices, with an additional USB port for charging your passenger's phone or your favorite Bluetooth headphones while you drive.
Nite Ize Steelie
This is definitely one of the coolest mounts on this list. The Steelie is a two-piece magnetic mounting system wherein a concave magnet adheres to the back of your phone or its case, and a spherical magnetic base adheres to your car's dashboard or console.
$18.50 at Amazon
Hop in the car, and your phone mounts in a snap. This is about as minimalist as it gets in terms of car mounts. Making sharp turns and hitting potholes? No worries: The magnet is super strong and the magnetic ball moves with your phone to prevent it from falling off. This beauty of a magnetic mount is small enough to look invisible when in use, but bold enough to stand out on your dash when its empty.
WizGear Universal Air Vent Magnetic Mount
WizGear produces another magnetic mount we're a fan of, but this one using flat plates rather than shaped ones so that you can hide the magnetic plate inside a thin case or stick it to the back of your phone case without adding that weird dimple. The magnets here are strong enough to hold your phone fast over your average pothole-riddled interstate while still being easy to pluck your phone from when you reach your destination.
$7 at Amazon
The WizGear's air vent clips keep your phone highly visible without obstructing your view, and it doubles as a kickstand for your phone if you take it out of the car. Since the WizGear is so compact and easy to transfer between cars, it's ideal for people who swap vehicles with spouses or children in a multi-car household or frequent travelers who want an easy-to-pack mount to use in rental cars.
Spigen Kuel A201 Premium Magnetic Air Vent Car Mount
Spigen's Kuel A201 feature the same air vent and hideable flat magnet convenience, but thanks to a 360-degree rotating and tilting magnetic base, the A201 can display your phone at any angle you want inside your car. 6 magnets inside the base instead of the WizGear's 4 also mean that this mount has a stronger grip to keep your phone secured over rougher drives and sharper turns.
$12 at Amazon
This bumped out air vent holder also makes the A201 compatible with cars that have air vents too recessed to use with smaller air vent mounts like the WizGear. This mount is a bit bigger and a tiny bit bulkier, but that superior grip and adaptability make it more than worth the size bump and price bump.
Spigen Kuel OneTap Car Mount
Like iOttie, Spigen makes a lot of great phone accessories and car mounts, and the Spigen Kuel OneTap gives you the same convenience and grip as the Easy One Touch 4 at only $19, $6 less than the iOttie.
$19 at Amazon
The OneTap is capable of holding even the largest phones securely, and there's a telescopic arm for orientating the arm precisely where you need it in your vehicle. This mount will not work on a leather dashboard, so keep that in mind. It's also available in black or white.
Koomus Pro CD Slot Car Mount
Your phone may take care of your road trip tunes these days, but your CD player can still be put to good use. Koomus's low-profile mount is easy to slip into the long-forgotten disc slot, and your CD player won't be damaged or even recognize that it's in use.
$17 at Amazon
The slide-out clamp on the Koomus Pro mount holds your phone easily and securely with or without its case. You can also rotate your phone 360 degrees for better viewing. The Koomus Pro has a maximum phone width of 3.4 inches, so even the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 will fit in there with a thin case.
The bottom line
First and foremost, you need to know the details of your local laws, in terms of whether or not you are allowed to mount anything on your windshield. Next, you need to consider how often you'll use a car mount and where in your vehicle it's going to be. Each of these car mounts has distinct advantages all their own, but we think that versatility and durability are the most important qualities to look for.
Which universal car mount are you using these days? Tell us about it in the comments!
Update August 2018: I've replaced the Spigen Style Ring with the Spigen A201 and updated links so that they're all taking you to the best listings and prices for our pick.
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