Sometimes you just need to get a grip on your phone.
We can white-knuckle grip our phones all day while we carry them around, but let's face it: phones get slippery. Hands get sweaty. Sometimes we just need something a little easier to hold on to. There are a number of solutions on the market to help us get a grip, but the two that seem to have risen to the top are PopSockets and the Spigen Style Ring.
They're two answers to the same problem, but there can only be one on the back of your phone. So which one should you slap on yours?
See Spigen Style Ring at Amazon
See PopSockets at Amazon
Accordions vs. hinges
Both PopSockets and Spigen Style Rings use 3M-style adhesives to stick their base onto the back of your phone (or phone case), and while the adhesive doesn't quite last forever, it sticks remarkably well to the back of the phone and if you need to reposition it once or twice, it can be moved without losing its strong grip.
Where the two products diverge is the shape and mechanism of your grip. The Spigen Style Ring employs a sturdy metal ring that rotates 180-degrees vertically on a metal swivel hinge that rotates a full 360 degrees, giving you a full range of angles to either grip the phone or use the metal ring as a kickstand. Meanwhile, PopSockets use an all-plastic assembly of "poppable" and collapsible levels to let you have the PopSocket at one of three levels: flat, halfway (one level popped open) and full (both levels popped open).
Because the PopSocket features a flat back, your phone can still sit flat-ish on a desk or tabletop when you don't have it popped out for a kickstand, whereas the Spigen Style ring wobbles a bit as the back of the Style Ring is a tiny bit uneven. A word of warning: the back of the PopSocket is quite slippery, meaning that your PopSocketed phone will slide around on tabletops and counters.
In-hand grip
When it comes to gripping your phone, both PopSockets and the Spigen Style Ring indeed make gripping your phone much easier. You'll use two fingers to grip the sides of your PopSocket, or you'll use one finger slipped through the ring of the Spigen Style Ring to grip the ring and back of the phone.
The Spigen Style Ring takes a little getting used to, but the grips you can get with the Ring are more diverse. If you have thin fingers, the PopSocket's halfway open mode can provide excellent grip, and the fully open mode keeps things grippy while giving you a little leeway. The PopSocket also acts as a kind of phone-mounted fidget toy, allowing you to pop it in and out and wiggle it around between levels when you need distracting.
The Spigen Style Ring has a small functional advantage here because you can slip the ring on backward and wear your phone like a giant ring, freeing up your hand to carry something else like coffee. If your wardrobe is often lacking in phone-sized pockets, this can be a lifesaver.
Kickstands and mounts
Both phone grips double as kickstands, but unlike our other categories, there is a clear winner here. The Spigen Style Ring's adjustable hinges allow you to set your kickstand at a variety of heights, both horizontally and vertically. The kickstand ability on PopSockets is pretty basic: if your PopSocket is fully extended, it'll hold your phone up horizontally. That's it. One PopSocket or two, they won't prop your phone up vertically.
If you want to use the separate, wall-mountable and car-mountable stands, be prepared to shell out. PopSockets sell their mounts separately, and they cost $10, same price as PopSockets themselves. The Spigen Style Ring includes a car mount with purchase, but if you need more than one, you'll have to buy another Style ring, too; they aren't sold separately right now. There are some third-party mounts made for Style Ring imitators, but none of them fit quite as well as the real deal.
On a brighter note, if you put your PopSocket or Style Ring high enough on your phone, you can skip the specialty mounts and use a magnetic air vent car mount, which is all but required here in the hellish heat of a Texas summer.
Which should you buy?
PopSockets are a more stylish-looking accessory, being easily customizable and adding a … well … pop of color and flair to your device, but they're not quite as versatile and functional as the Spigen Style Ring. If you want to have a vertical kickstand from your phone grip, or you want a grip that will actually free up your hands, The Spigen Style Ring is for you. If you just need a little grip, and a little flash, Popsockets are more your speed. The Spigen Style Ring does list higher at $20, but you can easily find it on Amazon for $14.
As stylish as PopSockets may be, this themer will stick to the Spigen Style Ring, especially for gaming and late-night web surfing.
Reader comments
PopSockets vs. Spigen Style Ring: Which grip should you stick to your phone?
None. They look ridiculous.
Absolutely agree. I guess I don't have as hard of a problem holding onto a phone as others. In the last couple of years I have dropped a phone once; and that was while I was trying to pull it out of my pocket so this likely would have done me no good.
I prefer the Spigen Style Ring. The ring comes with the mount that allows you to hang your phone on your car dash, or shower wall, etc. And you can hook it onto bags, purses, etc.
And it was the original fidget spinner. :)
If you can't manage something as simple as holding on to a phone, you probably shouldn't have one. Both look retarded.
it's not that serious, it just makes it easier to handle a phone, especially a large one. i used to have one in my 7 plus and it was great, i just ended up taking it off because i use it on a desk every day and the added hump on the back wasn't helping.
Maybe take a look at a Flygrip? Having tried all 3 that's my favorite.
So I was in Asia earlier this year and saw a ton of people with that type of ring, I'd never use one but I kinda get it, they love big phones over there and a lot of women have smaller hands, this does help them hold onto their phones a bit better than otherwise.
The thing is, you can pick one up for about $0.50 there, with the more expensive ones going for less than $3. Spigen pricing theirs at $20 is just ridiculous.
Rather have something with a strong magnet for a metal phone. Don't trust adhesives. Like the Spigen ring design better.
Pop sockets stink. Cheaper brands seem to last longer.
I use the pop socket on my S8 plus and it works great. I also have the holder in my truck which also works well.
Are you people kidding me or something??? Is this a late April Fool's joke? I looks like in one someone stuck a suction cup to the backside of their phone, and the other looks like they went to Home Depot and got the smallest door knocker that they could find... What a joke! If you have trouble hanging on to your phone get a case, if you have real trouble hanging on to your phone then get a robust case. Or just leave it in your pocket until you can use it with hanging on to it properly...
My wife heard about pop sockets several months back and was interested in them so I got her a custom one for Christmas. She absolutely loves it. I had a 40% off coupon from them because of a shipping issue (showed up a couple of days late which actually wasn't a big deal) so I bought one for myself and I must say that it's actually extremely useful. We have the $10 dock thing in my wife's car and it's great. I'm considering buying more.
I feel as though I am just talking to the trees.... seriously everyone that owns a phone please stop the insanity....making phones thinner is NOT a good thing....I am a man. I do not have dainty hands or long fingernails. It is difficult for me to pick up most phones off of a flat surface, and tough for me to hold them because they are so damn thin. But also with the emphasis on thin our phones' performances suffer. But thinness is a hold over from 20 damn years ago. That was the LAST time it was relevant to the review/build of a cell phone. Yet what do the damn reviewers talk about every damn time they get to tell us about a new phone...yeah? It is half a millimeter skinnier. The you only do that because they have not turned the damn thing on and started using it...then thinness become irrelevant. Every phone out there is more than thin enough. Reviewers need to stop the bullshit, and consumers need to recognize....THIN IS NOT GOOD AT THE POINT PHONES ARE DESIGNED NOW! If the phone companies actually were sensible they would figure out what size phone was best to carry around and to use/hold...Use some real research ya damn fools. AND then take that size/shape and see what they can engineer within it...make an hone so you can pick the damn thing up and hang on to it. I have the real camera phone. It was made by a bunch of idiots but they got one thing right...the original Nokia 41 megapixel. That "camera bump" that got all the bad press? Yeah, the damn fools that review phones called it every nasty thing they could. And for no good reason...a phone should not be wafer thin and slick....that bump is an extremely well-designed camera AND IT IS PERFECT FOR GIVING ME A WAY TO HANG ON TO MY PHONE. And guess what...I did not have to buy a silly ring to stick on my phone! It also makes it easy for me to orient which way is up on my phone...I do not have to look. I can feel which way is which. Imagine a phone thicker because it actually is better to hold, and then what goodies engineers could stuff in the extra space...a camera to rule all cameras, powerful battery, better antenna, and OMG...they could design a stronger case so you would not have to buy a case to hide your stupidly thin, fragile phone. The world is too full of stupid people.
why all the hate here? i use a similar product, but my reasons seem to be different than those listed by anyone above thusfar.
1) with a tall phone like the S8+, i like having this little thing protruding out the back of my phone so i can navigate the phone much better...it feels so sturdy when i (always) use my phone with one hand. and note that i'm talking here about standing or sitting up straight and holding your phone with one hand. a case wouldn't help with this (unless its back is rubberized or there's a small thing sticking out of the case to help grip it). and without this thing on my phone, i always feel like the phone is ready so slip right out of my hands when i go to reach for the very top of the screen or the very bottom.
2) i can use it as a built-in kickstand, which i like for reading articles online or viewing videos... no need to carry a separate kickstand with me, it's just always there.
3) if i'm slouched down on the couch, you can't hold and use your S8+ WITH ONE HAND or it'll slip right down and away from you (seriously...try it)...not a problem with this. i can put my finger in the strap and hold and use it with just one hand easily.
4) waking up in the am and using your phone in bed to check the morning emails, news, etc.....i can lay completely flat/comfy and hold my phone right over my face (i.e. parallel w/ the cieling), no problem...because my finger is in the strap.
there's other uses too that i can't recall off-hand.
but anyway...bottom line - it makes a big phone easy to use with hand! and you always have a kickstand ready.
Here's the product i use - and it's super-cheap compared to the solutions in this article: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N9I60OS/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpag...
I use a love handle. Lays flat and makes it very easy to hold the phone. https://www.lovehandle.com/ If you don't need a "kick stand" - my case already has one - then it works well.
"If you can't manage something as simple as holding on to a phone, you probably shouldn't have one. Both look retarded."
Why all the hate. Different people have different needs. If some like it, so what? I could see real application for those with some types of disabilities that might make it difficult to grip a phone.