Best PopSockets and phone grips

Suitable for any mobile device, but especially for larger, heavier phones, a phone grip can make a huge difference. Not only can you ensure a more secure grip while typing or holding your phone, many of them double as kickstands as well. You get a nice, secure grip while taking selfies, too!

Popsockets is, of course, the most popular brand in this space. But there are other brands worth considering, too. Each puts its own twist on the concept.

The PopSockets Swappable PopGrips come in fun designs and last through many years of wear and tear. But if you want something with a different form factor, we have you covered with the best Popsockets and phone grips from other brands.

At a glance

Best overall

PopSockets are some of the most popular and widely-used phone grips on the market for a reason: they last a long time, really help reduce the stress on your hands, and come in more styles than you can possibly imagine. PopSockets are also impressively affordable, but PopGrips with premium materials and franchised designs can get a little pricey for such a small plastic accessory.

One of the more addictive aspects of PopSockets is its trademarked accordion design, which pops in and out in a satisfying fashion. The biggest issue with the older PopSocket design was the thickness that interfered with wireless charging. You also had to either pry the whole darn thing off your phone or disassemble the tops in order to swap them. PopSockets decided to fix both of these issues with the Swappable PopGrips and PopSockets for MagSafe.

By allowing you to twist off PopTops from the PopGrip base, you can remove the bulk while using wireless charging, great news as wireless charging expands to more and more phones. You can also swap PopGrip designs to match your outfit, mood, or even Poptivism PopGrips that support a wide variety of charities like The Trevor Project, March for Our Lives, and Charity: Water. Just be mindful that once you start a PopGrip collection, they can get slightly addictive.

Best ring grip

While PopSockets are more prevalent, popular, and diversely designed, some folks simply prefer the traditional ring-style design. The Spigen O-Mag Ring is more functional than PopSockets, which makes it a better grip for a lot of users who can see beyond PopSockets' cutesy designs.

Ring grips are awesome because you only need one finger to use them, as opposed to at least two with the PopSockets. The O-Mag Ring also allows you to flip it over and hang your phone off the back of your hand when you need both hands to carry something like food trays or grocery bags.

Your phone can still sit flat on a tabletop, and a magnetic plate is embedded in that flat back so that you can use it with magnetic car mounts, too. Of course, that plate inhibits wireless charging, but metal grips almost always interfere with that anyway. Thanks to the 360-degree rotation of the base and the 180-degree hinge on the ring itself, you can use it as a kickstand in landscape or portrait mode on most phones so long as you don't stick it to your case too close to the bottom.

If you want to go the extra mile, you can choose the Spigen O-Mag Ring Webcam Mount version instead. It's the same as the regular O-Mag Ring except it also acts as a webcam mount. This makes the O-Mag Ring Webcam Mount heavier than the basic O-Mag Ring, however.

Plastic grips like PopSockets can potentially last a lot longer than metal grips like the Spigen O-Mag Ring which has bearings and a hinge that will inevitably wear out over the course of several months. It depends on how heavily you use it and how heavy your phone is.

Best unique grip

This snappy and sturdy MagSafe grip can serve as a kickstand and a phone grip, and it can easily attach your phone to magnetic car mounts, MagSafe and Qi2 wireless chargers, or mounting plates thanks to the MagSafe adapter ring that it comes with. The build quality is insanely durable, which means that unlike the HANDLstick Grip or CLCKR Phone Grip, the UAG Magnetic Ring Stand will definitely last you years and years.

I absolutely adore the UAG Magnetic Ring Stand for several reasons. Its solid metal make means that it can prop up really heavy phones with ease. It also stays put at whatever weird angle you choose to set it in, plus it works with both portrait and landscape orientations. The unique hexagonal design pops out at various angles.

UAG offers this sturdy grip in several colorways. There are muted shades like Nude, Titanium, and Black but also others with a lot more personality, like Orchid Pink. I am particularly fond of the dual-toned options, Mallard/Bright Blue and Black/Silver. The UAG Magnetic Ring Stand may not be the cheapest grip on this list, but it's one of the most well-made ones.

Best MagSafe grip

Popsockets makes a second entry on this list for its phone grip that's compatible with MagSafe, allowing you to use it with virtually any case, turning it into a wireless charging compatible one. Available in a range of colors, it magnetically attaches to a case using the included magnetic adapter ring, and then can be used like any other Popsocket.

The advantage here is that it's simple to remove as well as put on without the need for adhesives. Just keep in mind that while it works with most cell phone cases, this grip is best on cases that aren't made of silicone, that aren't textured, and that don't have an anti-fingerprint coating.

Once you want to recharge your phone, slide the grip off, charge, and then pop it back on like magic. While this one is slightly more expensive than others, the ability to transform a cheap old case into a high-tech one, and wirelessly charge your phone is worth it.

Most versatile grip

As noted, I have been using HANDL New York's flexible brace for many years and it has become one of my favorite phone accessories. The flexible brace, designed by a painter who got his inspiration from how he held his palette in his hand, stretches out to wrap around your fingers. Hold it like that while taking a selfie or recording video, even twisting the phone whichever way you need (great for lefties like me!)

When you're done, let go and it falls right back into place. Stretch to click the top into the bottom and voila! You have a handy kickstand as well. You get so used to clicking, flexing, and holding that it becomes second nature. I even hold my phone at my side while walking using the brace: it won't fall out! I instinctively slide my fingers through the brace every single time I pick up my phone, without fail.

With tons of colors and designs from which to choose, keep in mind that it does protrude slightly from the back of the phone which means it won't sit flat on a table or other surface. Depending on how much you use it, the brace will also wear over time, though it took several years for this to happen to mine.

Best kickstand grip

While in-hand use is the most important part of phone grip usage, the CLCKR Phone Grip and Expanding Stand can do so much more than that. It doubles as a sturdy portrait and landscape kickstand, giving you two phone accessories in one compact package. While most phone grips can be landscape kickstands in a pinch, they can't hack it vertically, but CLCKR is one of the few that actually makes for a darn good vertical kickstand.

You can snap the CLCKR's strap between flat and a kickstand, and you can leave it loose as a hand strap when holding the phone as you walk around. The strap doesn't bow up or flop around when not in use; it snaps back into place to stay flat and out of the way You may find it takes some coaxing to do so, though. It also comes in a half-dozen materials and finishes and several colors of each.

The only real problem with the CLCKR is that you can't use it on smaller phones or phones with a rear fingerprint sensor. You might find it dominating the rear of your petite Android phone like the Galaxy S24 or Pixel 8. Also, while 4.2mm isn't very thick for a phone grip, it's still too thick to allow for wireless charging. If you have a MagSafe case, there is a MagSafe version as well that combines the same rectangular design with a strong, circular magnet for easily taking it on and off. I have this one on my phone right now and absolutely adore it.

Best ergonomic grip

Plastic and metal grips can last a long time, but they can also be hard to grip for hours and hours on end if you're a power user. That's where fabric grips like the LoveHandle come in. This adorable little bow can help you avoid wearing out your fingers pinching a PopSocket or slinging a Style Ring 360, and since it's an elastic fabric strap, it's available in so many cute and adorable styles.

Of course, fabric can have its own pitfalls: elastic wears out over time, especially if you have a habit of yo-yo-ing your phone on your finger when you're bored. Fabric can also pick up stains and smells from spilled coffee and greasy, sweaty fingers, so you'll want to take care to keep your hands and your LoveHandle clean.

The LoveHandle Universal Grip is also one of the few phone grips on the market to not have any kickstand ability at all. However, that just means it's doing one thing well instead of trying to do two things poorly like many phone grips. You won't find any comfort or wireless charging incompatibility issues here.

Best wallet grip

Phone grips tend to monopolize the back of your phone, and if you're used to keeping a stick-on card slot back there for your work ID or credit card, good news! You can get stick-on wallets with phone grips attached. Sinjimoru makes a wide array of these card pouches, including a couple of models with elastic phone grips on the back, but the Sinji Pouch B-Flap is the best of the bunch.

Despite the rather bland name, this grip comes in one of five warm colors including ruby red and autumn gold. The Sinjimoru Sinji Pouch B-Flap has room for up to five cards or cash, and the elastic strap can be used with one to four fingers slipped through it, whatever is the most comfortable for you.

Like the LoveHandle, the elastic here can wear out over time, but some users have also reported seams busting after a few months as well. If you tend to be hard on your tech, you might want to opt for a metal or plastic grip instead.

• Back to the top ^

Why PopSockets are the best phone grips

Why you can trust Android Central Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

While there are about as many phone grip styles as there are case styles out there, PopSockets remain the most popular because they work well, last a long time, and with the newer Swappable PopGrips style, they're both easier to upgrade to a new style and use with Qi wireless charging.

PopSockets come in hundreds upon hundreds of styles, including Poptivism styles that benefit specific charities of just about every type you could imagine. Whether you want to swap out for PopTops that highlight your Disney fangirling or support your team on game day, there's probably a PopSocket for that. Another useful quirk of PopSockets is that they can double as fidget toys to help keep me from spacing out during staff meetings. These all help PopSockets be part toy, part tool, making them perfect for kids, too.

If you prefer a phone grip you can hook a finger through rather than having to pinch the PopSockets' plastic accordion, the Spigen Style Ring 360 is a great ring grip that works well as a kickstand, too. And if you want more flexibility (literally), I urge you to consider the HANDLstick as well.

Without a PopSocket or another grip, holding a large phone isn't just inconvenient; it can actually develop into a repetitive stress injury, especially if you spend a lot of time on a keyboard. That's why you should invest in one of these picks and give your hands and wrists a break.

How to choose

Before choosing the right phone grip, it's best to narrow your search down in a few ways. First, do you want a ring-style grip that you can slide a single finger into to hold it up? Or do you want a rectangular style one that fits several fingers for a more sturdy base?

Once you decide among these two main options, consider how it will adhere to the phone. Many phone grips impede wireless charging since they protrude from the back of the phone. If you wirelessly charge your phone option, your best bet is to invest in both a MagSafe case and a MagSafe phone grip. This makes it simple to remove the phone grip whenever you want to wirelessly charge your phone and pop it back on when you're done. I find this useful for other accessories, too. Plus, you can easily remove the phone grip and pop it into your bag if you want to go a day without it entirely.

Finally, while most phone grips also double as kickstands, not all of them do. So make sure it not only works as a kickstand but also both in vertical and horizontal mode. I use mine in vertical mode, for example, when I'm using my phone as a calculator or chatting with someone via video call. But horizontal is ideal for watching movies, playing games, and other widescreen activities.

Price and design also come into play. While MagSage phone grips generally cost more, they are worth it for the convenience if you want to be able to remove and put back in as desired. Style is also important. You might want a neutral solid color that matches with any phone case you have should you upgrade your phone and/or case. If you're all about bold statements, though, go for that leopard print or sparkling design.