I just tested the one car phone mount I'd put in my own car — and it's MagSafe friendly

MagSafe and Qi2 have started a shift in how car phone mounts work. Gone are the days of grips and fiddly mechanisms holding your phone in place, because magnets can do all the hard work for you. The Spigen OneTap Pro 3 CryoMax mount is one such option.

This MagSafe-compatible mount offers wireless charging, a quiet-cooling fan and a solid grip on the back of your phone. It does attach to your dashboard (or windshield) with a suction cup, which isn’t for everyone. But that doesn’t stop it from offering a great way to keep your phone securely mounted for the duration of your drive.

For all those reasons, it's one of the best car phone mounts for my car - and I'd wager yours too. Read my full Spigen OneTap Pro3 CryoMax car mount review to find out more.

Spigen OneTap Pro 3 CryoMax review: Price

The Spigen OneTap Pro 3 CryoMax Car Mount is available to buy direct from Spigen for $100. However, it can also be purchased from third party retailers for considerably less, including Amazon — which lists an MSRP of $65. And sales have seen it drop to almost half that price.

Airvent models are also available for slightly less. That means those of you that don’t like suction cups can still enjoy the magnetic mount and cooling fan with either an air vent clip or air vent hook design.

Spigen OneTap Pro 3 CryoMax review: Design

The OneTap Pro 3 CryoMax mount has quite an interesting design, which is what drew me to it in the first place. That's all thanks to the magnetic wireless charging pad and the cooling fan that lives behind it.

Starting with the actual mount itself, the model I reviewed comes with a suction cup design — though there are similar models that attach to your air vent on sale. There’s nothing particularly special about the suction cup, and it’s designed to lock in place with a flick-up clip much like any number of car mounts out there.

From there we have a retractable metal arm that slides forwards and backwards, but otherwise doesn’t move. We also have a dual-hinge design on the rest of the arm, which gives you greater freedom of movement and positioning.

The magnetic pad is also connected to the arm via a ball-socket, which lets you spin it around as much or as little as you like. This is mostly useful for tilting the mount into a more appealing position, since the magnetic pad already supports 360-degree mounting.

The pad itself is the real star of the show, but it’s crucial to remember that this is not a MagSafe product. It’s officially using Spigen’s MagFit, which is compatible with MagSafe (and Qi2), but lacks the same charging speeds as Apple’s system. So you’re limited to 7.5W wireless charging instead of the usual 15W.

The cooling fan only engages when a phone is attached to the pad, rather than staying on whenever the mount is plugged in. You can tell it’s working because the fan section lights in blue, and starts making a faint whirring sound. The fan helps to dissipate heat generated by your phone, and the cooler your phone stays the better it will be in the long run.

The power wire is pretty long; it's almost 45 inches, which means cable management might be a little tricky. Unfortunately, the CryoMax mount doesn’t have anything to help, meaning it's all up to you. The plug is also USB-C, which means those of you without a USB-C port in your car will need some sort of adapter to power it on.

Spigen OneTap Pro 3 CryoMax review: Setup

The setup for the CryoMax mount is really rather simple. You stick the suction cup in your chosen spot and flick up the lock. There really isn’t much more to it than that, assuming you have a smooth enough surface for the suction cup to create a proper seal.

If your dashboard is textured, or otherwise unsuitable for a naked suction cup, then Spigen has you covered. Included in the box is an adhesive mount, which sticks to your dashboard in a more permanent and solid way. Because the top is smooth, the CryoMax mount’s suction cup can stick to this without any of the usual problems.

Personally, though, I didn’t really need the mount. The suction cup has its own light adhesive, and that was more than capable of gripping onto the bumpy dashboard material without issue.

Once stuck firmly in place, all you need to worry about is positioning the magnetic pad to suit your preferences. Oh, and organizing that giant cable so it doesn’t get in the way. Sadly, since the CryoMax mount doesn’t have any cable management features of its own, that’s up to you to sort out for yourself.

Spigen OneTap Pro 3 CryoMax review: Performance

I have zero complaints about the CryoMax and its place in my car. The suction cup was pretty strong and held in place, even after I removed it and reattached the cup in a slightly different position. No matter what potholes I encountered on the roads it didn’t go anywhere.

Similarly, the range of motion you have from the arm is pretty impressive, and I was able to comfortably position my phone without issue. However I did struggle with the fact my dashboard tilts down slightly, which reduced the effectiveness of the retractable portion of the stand.

The magnetic pad was just as strong, and at no point did I worry about my phone detaching and falling on the floor. The connection between the phone and the mount happens with a satisfying snap, but it isn’t so strong that you’ll struggle to remove your phone. The wireless charging and fan initiate as soon as the phone is in place, though its effectiveness may vary if you’re not using an iPhone.

The fan is quiet, but it isn’t completely silent. You may hear a faint whirring noise at points, especially if you’re not actually moving. Those of you that also have electric cars may find this more pronounced, since there’s no engine noise to drown out the fan.

Officially speaking, the CryoMax is only compatible with iPhones and MagSafe. Which it is. When connected to an iPhone 15 Pro Max, I had zero issues in terms of connection or charging performance. Based on my USB-C multimeter, the charging speed was under 7.5W — as promised.

However, I was able to attach my Pixel 9 Pro, which is protected by a MagSafe-compatible case, without issue. Sadly, the case I have doesn’t play well with wireless charging, and I’ve struggled to get the phone to charge on any kind of wireless charging pad — the CryoMax was no exception.

That’s something to be aware of if you’re using an Android phone with third-party magnetic cases. The fan still worked as advertised, though.

Spigen OneTap Pro 3 CryoMax review: Verdict

There’s plenty of reasons to like the Spigen OneTap Pro 3 CryoMax, provided you have a compatible magnetic phone — or case. But the magnetic aspect is a big part of why I like it so much.

I mean no disrespect to phone mounts with mechanical grips, but there’s something immensely satisfying about being able to slap your phone against a stand and it stays there seemingly unaided.

The strength of the suction cup was definitely a win, and the cooling fan should prove incredibly useful (especially in the summer). It would have been nicer if the power cable was a little shorter, though. You don’t want it too short, but almost 4 feet of wiring for a dashboard mount is just too much.

Cable woes aside, if you want a suction cup mount for your dashboard or windshield, this is definitely one to consider. I know I am.