Need a car mount? Need to figure out where to mount it? Let us help figure out the best place to mount your smartphone in your car!
Need to go hands free with your device in your car? We can help!
Today, we’re going to help you figure out where you should mount your smartphone in your car and the best type of mount for that space. Out of all the car mounts that we’ve used, we prefer magnetic mounts because of how easy they are to use. Watch the end of the video for a quick comparison between regular mount and magnetic mounts.
We’re going to talk about five locations in your car that you can mount your smartphone and the types of mount we would use for each location.
We’ve spent several months of using different car mounts, in different cars and here are the five areas where you could mount your smartphone:
1. Driver side window
2. Rear view mirror/ center dash
3. Vents
4. Console
5. Cup Holder
We won’t really focus on a specific brand of these car mounts because nobody really does anything special. A quick Amazon search on vent mounts will show you dozens of brands that look almost identical.
Before we go through the best place to mount your smartphone in your car, there are two questions that you’ll need to keep in mind when getting a car mount:
1. Are you mounting a small phone or a large phone?
2. Are you going to mount your smartphone all the time?
So lets get started. We’re going to start with our least preferred location with the last location being our favourite.
Cup Holder
We didn’t think you could mount your device in a cup holder but we found a GearBeast mount on Amazon. The idea intrigue us so we bought one and immediately regretted it. Out of all the cars we’ve used, we could not find a comfortable place to mount a device using the cup holder mount. On Aaron’s car, the cup holder mount get in the way of the gear shifter which is pretty important in the operation of his manual transmission vehicle.
Cup holder mounts might work for larger vehicles like trucks because the bigger consoles. But at the end of the day, you’re losing a cup holder. And let’s be honest, cup holders are generally very useful to store anything but cups.
Cup Holder Mount used in this review: Gear Beast Cup Holder Mount
Console
Most of the products that suggest mounting a smartphone on your console are products that come with integrated magnets. Products like the Nodus Leather case, Nite Ize and Magbaks would fall into this category. Our biggest issue with mounting it on your console is that you’re going to cover something up. For example, on Aaron’s car, the only space to mount an iPhone 6 Plus with a Magbak makes accessing the climate controls difficult.
The other problem is that mounting it on the console seems to take away from the general design of the console. This might not seem like a big deal on 10 year old Mazda 3 but anybody with a nicer car will mostly likely not appreciate the adhesive mounts.
Also, removing semi-pernmanet mounts is a pain in the butt.
The only benefit of having it on your console is that there is almost no chance that your device is going to overheat on a warm day. If the console is your preferred location, we’d recommend going with a Nite Ize product because it gives you the most flexibility with your viewing angles and mounting locations.
Our favourite console mount: Nite Ize Steelie
Rear View Mirror/Central Dash
Is the rear view mirror or central dash area the best place to mount your smartphone in your car? We see a lot of devices being mounted in this general area and for good reason. It’s out of the way of the console, doesn’t require much effort to check and the screen can be viewed generally by anybody in the vehicle. For this central setup, we prefer the dash mount because the lower height allows us to reach the device a little easier.
If you are planning on getting a mount for this location, we would suggest getting one with a longer or extendable arm. As a side note, overheating might be an issue with the devices in this location.
We’re not a big fan of the rear view mirror/central dash setup because it’s distracting. We don’t like having something in the middle of the windshield that adds to a driver’s sight line. Why? because we try not to hit pedestrians who don’t look both ways before crossing.
If you are going to get something for this location, we’d strongly recommend getting a magnetic mount because you’re able to easily mount the device as well as changing the orientation of the device. The magnetic mounts are usually smaller in size which makes it easier to see around.
Check out the video if want to see us compare an iOttie mount and RAM mount against a magnetic mount.
Recommended mounts:
iOttie
RAM Mount
Scosche Magnetic Mount
Vent/CD Mounts
Vent/CD Mounts are the best for people who don’t need to have their devices mounted in their cars all the time. For Aaron, he only needs to see his iPhone if he’s navigating to a place he’s never been to. Or if he’s waiting for a call while driving. For the average person, we believe that these vent/CD mounts are the best place to mount your smartphone in your car.
To us, being able to securely and temporarily mount an iPhone seems very efficient to us. Like the rear view mirror/central dash, we’d go with a magnetic vent mount. Make sure you get one where the mount has a joint to allow you to turn your device towards you.
Our only issue with these mounts is that you’re blocking an actual vent. This might not be an issue in a place where the weather is mild but we operate in a place where snow and cold weather exists for 4-5 months out of a year so heat is very important to us.
Mount used in this video: iFace Magnetic mount
Driver Side Windshield
This is our preferred location for our smartphones. It’s out of the way and we can still keep track of directions or monitor potential phone calls.
The only reasons why we wouldn’t keep it here is if the setup would block a vent or if your device is way too big to fit in landscape mode. An iPhone 7 Plus in an iFace mount in landscape mode is comically too large. Also, keeping your device charged 100% of the time might be a bit more cumbersome as you’ll have to thread your cable over your steering wheel.
It is a tight spot so using a larger mount like the RAM mount might not work as well.
Mounts used in this video: Scosche Magnetic Mount and iFace Magnetic mount
Magnetic mounts vs. Non-magnetic mounts
We’d go with a magnetic mount over other mounts because of the ease of use. The mounts themselves are smaller so they take up less real estate on your windshield and you can easily change the orientation of the device.
The downsides of a magnetic mount is that it uses magnets (duh!). You either stick one to the back of your iPhone permanently or you get a case that has metal plate on the back. Cases like the iFace and Mous Limitness have metal plates that allow you to keep your iPhone magnet free.
Depending on your device, the magnet might have an adverse effect on your device. We know for sure that magnets will effect the iPhone 6 or older but the iPhone 6s and newer are shielded a bit better so don’t go navigating using the compass on your iPhone 6 or older with a mag mount.
The only upside to the non-mag mount is your ability to use whatever case you want. For heavier duty applications, the non-mag mounts will probably keep your device in place but city driving with a mag case didn’t result in the device flying around everywhere.
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Nowshin
September 17, 2017 at 4:48 am
Thank you so much for sharing such a wonderful product information with us.I need a smartphone holders and a cup holders at car.I have read an another article that was about cup holders at car and this is here . I am looking for the best product. Can you give me any suggestion for it.