Scosche MagicMount Dash review: A small, strong car phone mount

Commutes can be long and lonely. A smartphone is sometimes the best road companion there can be. It shouldn’t be a distraction, though, which is why finding the right car phone holder is important. A good holder needs to keep your phone handy and easily viewable so that you can manage your music, navigation, and hands-off communications as quickly as possible. The Scosche MagicMount Dash promises this and more, and I’ve been taking it on multiple road adventures lately. Is it the right co-pilot for you? Find out in this Scosche MagicMount Dash review.

See also: The best phone holders for your car

What you need to know about the Scosche MagicMount Dash

• Scosche MagicMount Dash: $19.99/£15.99/€19.99

The Scosche MagicMount Dash is a car phone holder that’s meant to adhere to your dashboard and keep your device in place. Instead of using the traditional physical restraints, it takes advantage of magnets to hold your device in the desired location and orientation.

The box comes with the mount and its adhesive surface. Also included are two metallic plates that attach to your devices, as well as an extra 3M double-sided tape as a replacement or for if you need to migrate your mount to another vehicle. There’s also a protective film for keeping your electronics free of adhesive residue.

This accessory measures 19 x 13.5 x 30cm and is available only in black. It can be had for $11.99 from Amazon (at the time of writing), though its real MSRP is $19.99.

What’s good?

Aesthetics are often an important matter when picking a vehicle accessory. Thankfully, this is one of the Scosche MagicMount Dash’s biggest benefits. The black color helps it blend into most environments. It’s also so small that you won’t really notice it’s there unless you’re really looking for it.

The backplate is made of rubber, which is gentle on your expensive electronics. Adding the protective film that goes between the plate and your smartphone is a nice touch too. This makes it simpler to uninstall the metal plate whenever you want to switch phones (or mounts).

Construction is very simple. There’s a single ball head that allows for angle adjusting. You also get a convenient clip in the backplate for cable management. I also liked that the section that attaches to your car’s surface has grooves that give it a bit of bend. Because of this, the Scosche MagicMount Dash will better mold to the surface area it’s attached to even if it’s a curved dashboard. In addition, this makes it easy to fit the mount somewhere other than your dashboard. This is an important consideration as incorrect positioning of a mount in front of your windshield could be dangerous and in some cases is illegal (check your local laws).

I’ll be the first to say that once you go magnetic you truly can’t go back. Not only does the lack of mechanics make the mount look more discrete, but using magnetic forces is so much simpler than standard car phone holders. I love being able to jump in and out of the car and simply dropping or pulling my phone from the mount.

As for the magnet’s strength, I was surprised by the diminutive Scosche MagicMount Dash’s ability to pull the phone away from my hand. It holds it firmly too, as the rubber surface feels like it almost sticks to your smartphone. I tested it with a Pixel 3 XL and a Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus; not once did I feel like they were moving around or close to slipping off.

More: The best car apps for your Android phone

What’s not so good?

While Scosche’s design is very sturdy, convenient, and functional, it doesn’t scream quality. The plastic doesn’t feel great to the touch, and the manufacturer uses that type of rubber that tends to get dirty with use. Thankfully it’s a discrete mount, but when people notice it, it won’t exactly look like a premium addition to your vehicle.

As simple as magnetic mounting is, it comes with some downsides. I’ve never been a fan of semi-permanently attaching metal plates to my phones for the sake of magnetic mounting. Nor do I necessarily like using adhesive material to attach things to my car. It just seems like too much of a sacrifice to me, but the pros may outweigh the cons if you value the convenience of a product like this one.

Another important thing to mention is that smartphone magnetic plates have been known to interfere with wireless charging, depending on their placement. If your phone supports the feature, be sure to do some research and find out the best plate location to avoid any issues.

Scosche MagicMount Dash review: Should I buy it?

It’s hard not to recommend a product when there’s so little to complain about. Our only main problem is that it doesn’t look and feel as good as some of its competition. If you can deal with adhesives and possible wireless charging interference, this is a great mount.

Magnet strength might be Scosche’s biggest advantage. It’s better than expected for such a small accessory, and it held all of the smartphones we tested very firmly. It doesn’t shake or move around in common terrain (roads), and it’s a very discrete-looking mount. While we’ve seen cheaper mounts in its category, $19.99 (or as low as $11.99 in sales) is still a pretty good price to pay for what you get with the Scosche MagicMount Dash.