Tom's Guide Verdict
If you really must buy a phone holder that uses a suction cup to stick to your car, this is a good place to start. In fact, it’s downright difficult to remove once it’s installed.
Pros
- +
You don’t lose any air vents
- +
Once attached it will definitely stay that way
- +
Putting your phone into the holder is a cinch
- +
The telescopic arm gives you more flexibility than other mounts
Cons
- -
Getting the mount off the dash can be a real battle
- -
Pretty big and can get in the way when not in use
- -
As good as that suction cup is, you still need a surface to attach it to
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Price: $30
Wireless Charging: No
Color: Black
Orientation: Portrait and landscape
Design: Suction cup
Normally, those sticky pads and suction cups aren’t all that great, but sometimes they are. Sometimes you get to test out the iOttie Easy One Touch 5 Smartphone Car Mount.
Sticking things to windshields and dashboards has long been one of the most popular ways of keeping a phone in view while driving, but you'll need to make sure you get one as secure as this.
iOttie Easy One Touch 5 Smartphone Car Mount price and availability
Priced at $30 from both Amazon and the iOttie website, the Easy One Touch 5 Smartphone Car Mount can be installed in your car in a matter of days.
iOttie Easy One Touch 5 Smartphone Car Mount: Design and features
The most important part of the iOttie Easy One Touch 5 Smartphone Car Mount is its large suction cup — that’s what attaches to your car, after all. From there, we have a telescoping arm that can be used to extend the distance from the cup to where your phone will sit. That’s an important feature because it means you can stick this thing to your windshield while keeping your phone within reach.
At the end of that arm is the holder for your phone. It’s big and solid and does the job well, albeit unspectacularly.
A magnetic cord organizer is also included in the box, and is meant to attach to the back of the holder as a way to keep your charger handy.
iOttie Easy One Touch 5 Smartphone Car Mount: Setup
This is where the fun starts. For most people, and the easiest method of installation, the best solution is to stick this thing to a windshield. Its large suction cup is suited to doing that job and it’s the way I did most of my testing. Once in place, a lever can be moved to create a vacuum, locking the suction cup in place. It’s all very clever and works well.
Anyone attaching this thing to a dashboard will need to make use of the additional pad. The theory is simple — stick that pad to your dashboard and then attach the phone holder to it using the standard suction cup. It works, and it works well. But I’d still recommend sticking this thing to the windshield where possible.
Putting your phone into the holder is simple. Just press the locking arms on the side of the holder, insert your phone, and push it in. The pressure releases the arms and you’re all set. Those with bigger phones can also move the locking feet as well, but that wasn’t necessary with my iPhone 12 Pro.
iOttie Easy One Touch 5 Smartphone Car Mount: Performance
Oh, boy does this thing suck — in a good way! Whether it’s thanks to the large suction cup or some special pixie dust somewhere, this phone holder has the best suction cup I’ve ever experienced. In fact, once installed, getting the phone holder back off my windscreen was so difficult I thought I was going to break something. I have no concerns that this will fall off even over the bumpiest of terrain.
The same goes for the phone holder, too. It holds your phone well, although there is a certain amount of wobble if you have the telescoping arm extended as I did. I don’t see how that could be avoided, though.
One negative that’s worth mentioning is the sheer size of this thing. Even without a phone installed, it’s big. Some phone holders disappear when they aren’t being used — this one most definitely does not.
Verdict
I didn’t expect to, but I really like the iOttie Easy One Touch 5 Smartphone Car Mount. My personal preference is still a mount that slides into a CD player slot, but if you must stick your phone to a windshield or dashboard, this is the best option I’ve come across so far.
It won’t break the bank and it does what you need it to — it holds your phone in place while you’re driving. You can’t really ask for more than that.
