Mophie Portable Magnetic Stand review: A MagSafe solution with a premium price

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Mophie’s new Portable Magnetic Stand is a well-designed piece of kit that works with Apple’s MagSafe. However, the lack of charging makes it hard to recommend to the everyday user.

Launching alongside the more capable Mophie 3-in-1 travel charger, the Portable Magnetic Stand has a singular use. Namely, propping up your phone while on the go.

Premium, soft-touch fabric wraps the device. It’s velvet-like but has a heathered, woven look. A small faux leather Mophie logo is stitched to the top, the only mark on the outside.

For the inside, Mophie replaced the soft-touch fabric with a solid grey material that has the slightest shimmer.

Mophie appears to have cut the fabric or finished the edge of the material with heat, leaving a somewhat rough edge. It’s in opposition to the soft feel of the exterior though it may wear down with use.

Design and use

It unfolds, with one half acting as the base while the top half articulates with a built-in magnetic mount. Then any MagSafe-enabled iPhone can attach. As it stands, all iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 models include support for MagSafe.

If you have any older iPhone but love Mophie’s mount, the company does offer some magnetic rings you can place retroactively.

The magnetic puck has a rubberized face with plastic around the edge. The magnet seems surprisingly thick, though we surmise this may be to match the thickness of the bottom hinge more than out of necessity. When closed, the top and bottom layers run parallel, separated by the hinge and magnet.

Both of the hinges are metal, with the bottom one exposed. The bottom hinge is a round tube made of what looks like anodized aluminum and matches the fabric color well.

Mophie nailed the tension on both of these hinges. They are strong and easily hold the weight of your phone. Even the massive iPhone 13 Pro Max.

At the same time, they can move easily. They feel and smooth and strong as the ones on our MacBook Pro.

When the stand is closed, the magnetic pad attracts a metal plate embedded in the bottom of the stand. This helps keep it shut in your bag and provides a satisfying click when you close it.

Despite the sturdiness of the stand, there is still some play. It tends to bounce around if you try to use your phone while on the stand. A small tap will result in 3-5 seconds of bouncing as your phone comes back to rest.

Too much bouncing gets annoying, and the bounces seem to amplify with each subsequent tap. You also tap the wrong place if the phone moves under you.

That’s probably a lot of commentary on a minor issue because it’s not all that difficult to pick up the phone when you need to use it.

There’s no orientation to MagSafe stands, which means your phone can be placed at any angle. Rotate it horizontally or keep it vertical.

Watching Apple Fitness+ or a movie is great in landscape but scrolling Tiktok or taking a FaceTime is better suited for portrait.

Should you buy the Mophie Portable Magnetic Stand?

The rub here is the price. At $40, we’d classify it easily as a premium accessory. However, other options are available that can get the job done for less, even with MagSafe.

We looked at the Moft wallet which connects via MagSafe, holds a couple of cards, and can act as a portable stand. That’s cheaper, smaller, and more functional.

Recently, we also reviewed the Speck Presidio Folio that integrates your existing MagSafe puck into a portable cover that can charge your iPhone, manage your cable, supports multiple orientations, and is more stable. Though, that price tag is higher as you need both components.

The point being is that there are a lot of options out there. Mophie has created a fantastic accessory that we’re happy to add to our gear bag. It is undoubtedly the nicest option out of the many we’ve reviewed.

With availability in Apple Stores, it’s sure to catch a lot of attention. We wish it could charge. We’d be all-in if there were a $50 version with a removable USB-C cable for charging. But $40 for just a stand is a harder sell.

If you’re ok with the price, we’re sure you’ll love the Mophie Portable Magnetic Stand.

Pros

• Great design
• Ultra-soft exterior fabric
• Premium look and feel
• Works great with MagSafe
• Compact for travel
• Phone works in either orientation

Cons

• If you want to charge, you need to using Lightning
• Not the smallest portable stand
• On the expensive side
• Bounces when you tap your iPhone

Rating: 3 out of 5

Where to buy

Grab the Mophie Portable Magnetic Stand direct from Zagg’s website for $39.99.