Oh snap, I have a new favorite phone grip

In 2022, we called a simple magnetic ring from Anker the best MagSafe phone grip, but things have evolved dramatically since then! You can buy two or even three magnetic rings joined at the hip these days to wield your iPhone, recent Pixel, or really any phone if you stick a magnetic case or included mounting ring on the back.

Unlike the Anker we swore by for years, both are double-sided magnet rings. I don’t have to take them off when I plop them on a MagSafe phone charger or car mount. And with them on, I can stick my phone directly to a fridge, filing cabinet, or certain pieces of gym equipment since the magnets work both ways.

But the real trick, the thing that sets them apart from the pack, is getting the right magnet strength. The OhSnap 5 now uses magnets so strong that it no longer needs any pesky adhesive to hold onto my phone — while the reverse side is just strong enough to stick to my magnetic car mount while also detaching easily.

My wife’s puffier version of the Syncwire also detaches easily, as I discussed in my September video below, but the standard version doesn’t. I often have to run back out to the car after accidentally leaving my Syncwire stuck to the charger.

As you’ll see in my videos embedded in this story, the Syncwire’s a pretty traditional ring save for its awesome ratcheting mechanism, which leaves fewer scrapes on my phone than the Anker and doubles as an excellent fidget toy.

The OhSnap works differently: instead of putting a finger through a ring, you place them in or around a set of interlocking flexible arms attached to a disc that retracts from the back. It looks downright weird but it’s impressively versatile: you can hold it between any two fingers like a PopSocket, or stick any of your fingers into the little cage between the arms. You can even slot the disc into a little notch to turn it into a basic phone stand.

You can see all those in my October 2024 video about the earlier Snap Grip 4 version:

$40 is a high price to pay for a phone grip, particularly one that’s had some sort of weakness in every revision so far. (My colleague Victoria Song broke her Snap Grip 3’s little fingers, the Snap Grip 4 had far stronger fingers but it also had the annoying adhesive, and now the new soft-touch coating is peeling off my Snap Grip 5 after a month or so of use, though it’s easy enough to scrape away.)

But the Snap Grip 5 is meaningfully thinner and lighter than the Syncwire, and I no longer accidentally leave it in the car. As a cheapskate and fidget toy lover, I might stick with my ratcheting Syncwire… but I’m definitely thinking I might gift a Snap Grip or two this Christmas!