After months of letting an OhSnap Snap Grip Stand live in my pocket, I finally gave in and bought one for myself. It turned out to be the rare phone accessory that earns its place on my device every single day.
I had convinced myself I would never buy an OhSnap accessory for my phone. Every model I tested felt well made but overpriced and just a little bit off. Last year, after reviewing the $40 Snap Grip 5, I went back to my trusty $25 Syncwire. But OhSnap’s new $50 Snap Grip Stand changed my mind. The idea of having a genuinely useful vertical stand and grip always attached to my phone, ready whenever I needed it? Yes, please.
I started testing the Snap Grip Stand months ago, and quickly realized it never came off. So I bought my own.
It is remarkably thin, just 3.7mm, so it slides into a pocket without creating an awkward bulge. Like the previous generation, it has a double-sided magnetic ring. That means it sticks to a MagSafe style phone, but also flattens against a fridge, gym equipment, or my garage cabinets. It even allows some wireless charging to pass through.
The magnets hold my phone securely, and the grip itself is one of the most flexible designs I have tried. The interlocking joints can sit loosely between two fingers, like a PopSocket, or you can slide one finger through the joints for a much firmer hold. The entire disc spins freely, letting you rotate the phone to any angle. It does still make a faint scraping noise when it turns, but that is a minor quibble.
What really sets this model apart is the stand. Most magnetic grips either lack a stand entirely or include one that barely props the phone up and takes too long to deploy. The Snap Grip Stand features a thin fold out ring on a hinged arm that encircles the magnetic ring. Pull it down, and your phone instantly props up in its natural vertical orientation. There is no need to remove the grip, rotate it, or lock a tab into place like on OhSnap’s earlier models. Just pull, set the phone down, and you are done.
It is not the only accessory with this kind of design. The $17 Gornergrat Grat 5 offers a similar stand for far less money. I tried that one too, but I disliked its elastic strap, which felt loose and less secure around my fingers.
OhSnap uses the extra vertical arm space to keep the stand from rotating when you do not want it to. There is an extra vertical magnet inside to match Apple’s MagSafe pattern, plus some grippy clear plastic material that adds friction. I am also happy to report that the aluminum body has none of the adhesive or soft touch coating problems I found on earlier models. The Snap Grip 4’s adhesive bothered me, and the Snap Grip 5’s coating started peeling during testing. Here, the bare anodized metal looks and feels great.
Right now, I can only think of three things that would make it better: a lower price, magnets in the stand’s ring instead of just the main ring so I could use the magnets and the stand at the same time, and perhaps a more convenient way to open the grip one handed.
I do appreciate how Tango’s spring loaded grip pops open with a press. But I tested that one as well, and the spring pushes my fingers apart too much for my liking.
As for the price, OhSnap products do go on sale regularly. I bought mine at Best Buy for $40 after tax.
The OhSnap Snap Grip Stand is not cheap, but it is the first magnetic grip that has earned a permanent spot on my phone. If you want a versatile grip and a genuinely usable stand in one slim package, this is the one to get.
