I finally found the perfect phone tripod, and it's under $30

I’ve had the Ulanzi MA26 on my Amazon wishlist for over a year and almost forgot about it until Black Friday 2024 rolled around. As I was scrolling through my wishlist for significant price drops, I saw that the tripod’s price had fallen from a silly overpriced €45.99 in France to an all-time low of €25.99 (it had also dropped from $35.95 to $28.76 on Amazon US). It didn’t take a lot of thinking before I made my purchase, and I have zero regrets.

This is the best phone tripod I’ve ever seen or owned. It’s the most versatile, the most portable, and the most solidly built.

I love a good accessory for my Android phone, and I’ve cycled through many tripod designs and ideas over the last two decades. From the ingenious credit-card-shaped Pocket Tripod to MagSafe mounts and larger desk tripods, I’ve had them all. I’ve lugged them on trips and adventures, used them anywhere from my desk to planes’ food trays, and carried them across the show floors of CES, MWC, and IFA. But none of them hit that sweet spot of portability, solidity, and versatility just yet. I had to sacrifice one or two requirements every time.

The Ulanzi MA26 (and no, this isn’t an ad; I bought mine, and I’ve never been in touch with Ulanzi) is the best part of every tripod I currently own. It’s exactly what I’ve wanted all along: small enough to fit in my hand or pocket, stable enough to stand on many surfaces, and versatile enough to be a selfie-stick one moment and an astrophotography stand the next. Don’t believe me? There are a million reviews on YouTube that say the same thing.

So what makes it so good? First is its portability. It weighs 142g, much lighter than my Pixel 9 Pro XL. It’s almost double the thickness of the Pixel but remains thinner than my minimalist wallet or the case of my Pixel Buds Pro 2. Plus, it’s just 12cm tall (4.72 inches) when folded.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve skipped taking other tripods with me to events or day trips because I just didn’t want to bother with the bulkiness and weight. I hate carrying stuff around; I only grab a backpack when I must, and my shoulder aches from single-shoulder slings. So, on most days, I’m usually out with whatever fits in my pockets. And the MA26 even fits in the tiny pockets of my women’s pants.

Next is the solid build. For something so tiny and so light, you’d expect a flimsy build. But no, the aluminum alloy is rock-solid. It feels nice in the hand, like I could drop it a million times and it wouldn’t budge. Every joint that rotates, flips, turns, or expands has enough resistance to make me trust it. Nothing moves by itself; I really need to exert pressure to unfold and fold the stand. Despite the resistance, it’s also, surprisingly, buttery smooth.

I would’ve thought that the Ulanzi MA30 ($29.95 on Amazon) with its MagSafe attachment would be better for me because I really enjoy the simplicity of magnets, but Qi2 is still not as prevalent on Android as I would’ve liked. I don’t want to worry if my phone has magnets or if I need a special case or an attachment ring before using the stand in my pocket, so the clamp is as universal as it gets for me, for now.

I also appreciate that the sides of the clamp are hollowed out to avoid triggering the volume and power buttons on my phone. Pixel phones are usually the biggest victims of tripod clamps, as it’s almost impossible to balance the middle of the phone in the clamp without constantly pressing the buttons. That doesn’t happen with the Ulanzi MA26 — whew! The clamp also acts as a cold shoe mount on both sides, but I don’t have any accessories to test it with.

Perhaps, though, my favorite feature of this stand is how much of a Transformer it is. I can twist and turn every bit in every direction to change the setup. Standing tall on a table to take photos, compacted into a desk tripod for watching videos (both on its three legs or with two flat against the desk), collapsed down — it all works. Landscape, portrait, facing up, down, at an angle; it can do it all.

Better yet, it balances perfectly to point the camera up, a feature I had yet to find in any other small tripod. This is one of the ideal positions for shooting astrophotos. I’ve missed dozens of good astro shots because my old stands were wobbly in the wind or couldn’t point in the right direction without falling. I usually have to finagle something to steady my phone with other stands, and even then, I end up missing the right angles or getting a blurry photo. Not with this one, though.

And when I need a selfie stick, the MA26 can also become one. Not the most ergonomic to hold, but I’m so rarely taking any selfies that I don’t need more.

Overall? Best €25 I’ve ever spent on a phone accessory. I know it’ll last for years and will be in my pocket for every long train ride, flight, event, gathering, day trip, and random outing. It doesn’t get better than this.

Look, I’m not trying to sell you a tripod if you don’t need one. But if, like me, you’ve been looking for a great phone tripod that marries all of these features, then by all means, get the Ulanzi MA26. It’s $35.95 on Amazon in the US now, which isn’t as bad as the original price in France, but there may be coupons or price drops every now and then. Keep your eye on that. If your phone (or case) is compatible with MagSafe, the Ulanzi MA30 ($29.95 on Amazon) could be a neat alternative, too.