MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2 review: slick automotive automation

AppleInsider

Pitaka's MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2 is an excellent evolution of its original car charger with the added benefit of NFC-powered Shortcuts automation.

Pitaka MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2 review

Car chargers don't seem like a place waiting for disruption. MagSafe made them much better at device presentation and charging, so there wasn't much else to do from there.

Rather than accepting that, Pitaka attempted to take the simple concept of a car charger further. It created a sleek plastic and aramid fiber build that secures a MagSafe-compatible iPhone with a strong grip.

As a bonus, it has a physical switch that the user can toggle to change NFC functions. There are three positions, giving the user some variability beyond what's possible with a single Shortcut.

MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2 review -- design

The MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2 has a design similar to the original, which takes on a modern car-like design. It has curves, shiny plastic sides, and grooves, and it looks like it belongs as part of most modern infotainment systems.

MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2 review: aramid fiber and NFC

The flat front surface is covered with the same aramid fiber used in Pitaka's iPhone cases. The switch in the middle toggles the NFC setting, and an NFC icon is visible at the bottom.

The rear of the charger has an adjustment knob to adjust the tension of the vent clip. The vent clip connects to the main charger via a 17mm universal swivel ball, which means any compatible vent clip or dash mount can be swapped.

MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2 review: a slim, simple vent clip

The original MagEZ Car Mount Pro had an internal fan to cool the charging coils. Pitaka says the second-generation charger doesn't need fans thanks to improvements to the overall design.

The MagSafe magnets in the charger are strong enough to keep even the heavy iPhone 15 Pro Max aloft on bumpy roads. A MagSafe case will increase this grip strength further.

The wireless charger is rated at 15W for Android devices, while iPhones are limited to 7.5W. This is because it is neither certified MagSafe nor Qi2.

Using the MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2

The vent mount included with the MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2 is one of the better ones we've used. Others are large and difficult to mount in our Honda HR-V's awkward vents.

MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2 review: the vent clip sits flush and stable on the vent

Pitaka's included vent clip slipped right between the vents and fastened without effort. After tightening the ball joint, the iPhone stayed aloft and never sagged.

The charger connects over USB-C to a power supply plugged into the cigarette lighter. Pitaka doesn't include the power supply, but any 20W or better option should work without issue.

MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2 review: USB-C connection and a standard 17mm ball mount

Since the MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2 is powered over USB-C, it can be unplugged and plugged into our iPhone in a pinch. The 7.5W charging keeps our iPhone topped up for long trips, but if we're a little low and driving only 10 minutes down the road, wired 20W can add a lot more power.

Overall, Pitaka's car charger works great as a magnetic car charger and looks good. But that's not all it can do.

NFC automations

The switch at the base of the MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2 allows the user to switch between three NFC functions. These do nothing out of the box except show a link to Pitaka's website, but they can be used to program automations in Shortcuts that execute when tapped.

MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2 review: tapping the NFC symbol sets off a programmed automation

Three NFC tags mean three distinct automations. You can get creative with this by executing Shortcuts with complex if/and statements, but we kept it simple for the review.

Two of our automations were for media. Tapping one NFC chip would start my Apple Music station, while another would resume whatever Podcast is active in the Apple Podcasts app.

A third Shortcut we tested was automatically getting directions home and sending an ETA to our significant other. The nice thing about starting simple is we can easily add more steps as ideas come to mind.

MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2 review: setting up an automation in Shortcuts

Setting up the automation is the same every time.

1. Open the Apple Shortcuts app and navigate to the Automation tab.


2. Tap the "+" in the top right corner and select "NFC" as the trigger.


3. Configure the settings as needed -- we set the automation to run immediately without notification.


4. Tap "Scan" and tap your iPhone to the NFC symbol on the charger.


5. Tap "Next" and set up your Shortcut actions.


6. Tap "Done" and your automation is ready.

Repeat this with the switch in all three positions to set up each automation. Tapping the iPhone to the NFC tag will now execute the automation associated with that switch color.

We noticed that the website notification occurs every time the iPhone is tapped. There doesn't seem to be a way to erase this from the NFC chip, but it isn't too much of an annoyance.

NFC in a simple, stylish car charger

Adding NFC to a MagSafe-compatible car charger makes it that much more useful. We're happy to see Shortcut automation executed in a different space, like inside a vehicle.

MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2 review: designed as part of a modern dash

The good design and unique feature set don't come at a premium cost, either. It's priced identically to the middling Car and Driver magnetic car mount we've reviewed previously.

If you're in the market for a better in-car charging solution, we can't recommend Pitaka's MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2 enough. It's especially great if you are an avid Shortcuts and automation user.

MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2 - Pros

• Well designed and disappears when the iPhone is attached


• USB-C power means iPhone wired fast charging is within reach


• Easily attach to other mounts if included vent mount isn't enough


• NFC is a bonus on an otherwise well-rounded charger

MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2 - Cons

• No power adapter included


• NFC tags have a website attached that can't be removed

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

It's difficult to consider how you'd improve something as straightforward as a vent-mounted magnetic car charger. NFC automations are novel enough to get this product 5 out of 5, but that annoying website notification isn't ideal.

Plus, including a simple power adapter would have been nice at this price.

Where to buy the MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2

Get the MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2 from Pitaka's website for $59.99. It can also be purchased on Amazon for $59.99.



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rip415

I feel like anyone that wants to do this, has already bought an NFC sticker?

philip.coats

These type of solutions have 3 problems that I don't ever see listed in a review.  First, mounting your phone directly in front of a vent in winter while your heater is running is probably a bad idea.  Second, wireless charging is nice, but wired CarPlay is so common that wireless charging seems useless.  Third, I have yet to find a magnetic mount that can keep my phone mounted for anything other than perfectly smooth riding at a constant speed - any bumps send the device flying.

StrangeDays

philip.coats said:

These type of solutions have 3 problems that I don't ever see listed in a review.  First, mounting your phone directly in front of a vent in winter while your heater is running is probably a bad idea.  Second, wireless charging is nice, but wired CarPlay is so common that wireless charging seems useless.  Third, I have yet to find a magnetic mount that can keep my phone mounted for anything other than perfectly smooth riding at a constant speed - any bumps send the device flying.

As #2, I’ve been running a third-party wireless CarPlay adapter for years. Def want charging solution that is just setting something down. 

dewme

philip.coats said:

These type of solutions have 3 problems that I don't ever see listed in a review.  First, mounting your phone directly in front of a vent in winter while your heater is running is probably a bad idea.  Second, wireless charging is nice, but wired CarPlay is so common that wireless charging seems useless.  Third, I have yet to find a magnetic mount that can keep my phone mounted for anything other than perfectly smooth riding at a constant speed - any bumps send the device flying.

The most secure non-permanent MagSafe mount that I've found is one that uses the CD slot to secure the mount to the dashboard. In fact, my car's audio system looks exactly like the one in the above article pictures (Honda) and has the same exact CD player configuration. Of course a CD slot mount is an imperfect solution because the phone blocks the audio system screen when mounted and the CD player is no longer usable. I have never used it. Having a more secure attachment to the dashboard allows stronger magnets to be used on the MagSafe pad. My iPhone 14 Pro Max has never come off the CD slot mount I use and some of the roads I use every day are quite horrible, especially in the winter and early spring. 

I will say that all vent fin and CD slot mounts are a less than perfect hack. It almost makes you think that some consideration should be given for automobile makers or third party suppliers to come up with some sort of standard hardpoint mount, something akin to the Picatinny rail on firearms. This would allow all accessory makers to build a range of attachable accessories that all adhere to the same standard mounting mechanism. A built-in MagSafe mount may also work but I don't see too many auto makers wanting to get in even tighter with Apple. Of course nothing like this will ever happen because auto makers view their interior and dashboard designs to be hallowed ground that only they have a say in deciding what goes in and what stays out. That's understandable, but how many vent fins have to die and how many phones have to be fished out from under the dashboard and seats before we have a better solution? 

beowulfschmidt

I realize there's very little incentive for them to actually do so, but I sorely wish auto manufacturers would consistently provide a spot to actually place a phone that is secure, isn't in the way, and provides charging and cooling.

timpetus

beowulfschmidt said:

I realize there's very little incentive for them to actually do so, but I sorely wish auto manufacturers would consistently provide a spot to actually place a phone that is secure, isn't in the way, and provides charging and cooling.

The other reason they won't is that they're damned if they do, damned if they don't when it comes to screen visibility for the driver. Put it in a place where the driver can see their phone? Lawsuit. Put it where they can't? Consumers will hate it and it will hurt the manufacturer's reputation instead of helping it. Lose-lose.