After weeks of road-testing a dozen car phone mounts, WIRED crowned a compact MagSafe suction mount from Andery as the top pick for iPhones. For Android users, the standout was a mechanical grip model. Both stayed put on rough roads, kept the screen visible, and cut vibration. Brand prestige didn't factor into the verdict.
In most states, hands-free driving is now the law. That transforms the car phone mount from a convenience into safety equipment. Most vehicles still ship with weak infotainment systems or unreliable navigation, so drivers default to their phones. A $36 mount that actually holds is more useful than a $120 branded one that slides.
WIRED's testing revealed that price and prestige are decoupled from performance. A no-name mount with solid engineering outperformed established brands. That's a signal to buyers: shop for fit and stability, not logos.
The phone already won the dashboard. Carmakers spent years trying to turn the center console into a software platform, but most drivers still trust the device in their pocket for maps, music, and alerts. The humble mount has become the adapter between aging car hardware and how people actually drive in 2026.
Filed to the Technology desk · Aug 25