SwitchEasy’s MagEasy MagLink Magnetic iPhone Mount for MacBooks provides a handy way to stick your iPhone on your MacBook to use the handset, via Continuity Camera, as a webcam. Recent iPhones have superior optics and solid microphones. Not only that, but the mount can serve as an iPhone stand or a grip for other uses, too.
While the clever little mount’s stability worried me at times, it works and it won’t break the bank at $29.99.
SwitchEasy MagEasy MagLink Magnetic iPhone Mount for MacBooks
The MagLink magnetic mount is essentially a strong magnet with a two-part mechanism for different mount and grip uses.
The mechanism’s longer loop, made of metal, folds out to be used as a stand if you want to set your iPhone on a surface and watch its screen in landscape mode. That same loop can also be a grip. You can stick your finger through it to hold your handset more securely.
The short piece of the mechanism, made of silicone, folds out to a 90-degree angle and rests on top of a MacBook without scratching it. That makes it possible to stick the back of your iPhone to the magnet and place the handset on the laptop so the camera assembly faces you. At that point, switching to the iPhone as a webcam with Continuity Camera is practically automatic.
Not the most secure iPhone mount
Photo: David Snow/Cult of Mac
A little silicone foot sticks out of the mechanism to keep the phone from tumbling off the back of a MacBook. And that bit gave me a little trouble.
I usually keep my 2021 14-inch M1 MacBook Pro open on a stand. I found when I mounted my iPhone 13 Pro to it using the MagLink, it simply wouldn’t stay. The silicone lip would lose its grip and the iPhone and mount tumbled to the floor behind my desk. And it did that whether or not my iPhone had its leather MagSafe case on or not.
Photo: David Snow/Cult of Mac
I worried I wouldn’t even be able to test the mount’s main function — allowing you to activate Continuity Camera in macOS Ventura to use your iPhone as a FaceTime webcam instead of your MacBook’s webcam. It would only stay on the MacBook for a couple of seconds.
But when I took my laptop off its stand and set it on the desk, the little mount managed to hold on. It didn’t hold as perfectly fast as it looks in SwitchEasy’s photographs, but it held after a bit of fiddling for long enough to use it.
The mount’s big plusses in this context are straightforward. It elevates your iPhone’s camera a bit higher than your MacBook, closer to eye level if you’re sitting at a desk. And my iPhone 13 Pro’s 12MP camera is simply better than my MacBook Pro 1080p webcam, so I got a better-looking video call. And Continuity Camera works with Center Stage and in either landscape or portrait mode.
Works nicely as an iPhone stand or grip
Photo: David Snow/Cult of Mac
And just to recap the mount’s uses beyond using your iPhone as a webcam with Continuity Camera (the main draw), it works well as a simple iPhone stand or as a loop grip that gives you another way to hold your handset, as in the photo above.
I would like the MagLink mount to be super-secure when perched on my MacBook Pro, but it’s stable enough to work. Just don’t touch the MacBook or jostle the desk when you use it.
Features:
- Upgrades FaceTime video quality.
- Works as an iPhone stand or ring grip.
- Powerful magnets allow hands-free use.
- Protects MacBooks with metal and silicone materials.
Compatibility:
- Any iPhone with MagSafe
- 13-inch M1/Intel MacBook Air
- 13.6-inch M2 MacBook Air
- 13-inch M2/Intel MacBook Pro
- 14-inch MacBook Pro
- 16-inch MacBook Pro
Specifications:
- Materials: PC, silicone, magnet, zinc alloy
- Product dimensions: 55mm x 55mm x 9mm
- Product weight: 23 grams
SwitchEasy said it ships the product to the U.S. only.
Price: $29.99 (currently sold out)
Where to buy: SwitchEasy
SwitchEasy provided Cult of Mac with a review unit for this article. See our reviews policy, and check out other in-depth reviews of Apple-related items.
★★★☆☆
