I’m beginning, just, to see the desirability of having my iPhone mounted where I can see it while I’m driving. For example, it would be nice to be able to see it when I’m following directions, rather than try to prop it up in the console box. I’m asking for recommendations for an iPhone mount for a Prius.
I don’t want one of those cup-holder ones, since I use my cup holders for cups. A windshield mount seems obvious, but the windshield is so sharply raked that I feel the phone might be too far away or else up to high. There’s a spot on the dash that’s next to the MFD and above the Power button that would be a good place. How would a mount be… erm, mounted? Velcro stuck to the dash?
I used to have one of the suction cup windshield mount ones. It worked fine until I got a new car. After moving it to the new car it would not stay in place, even after cleaning both the windshield and the suction cup.
So I got rid of it and got one of these, a powerful magnet that clips to the AC vent and comes with a metal plate you stick inside you phone case for that sticks to the magnet. It works great, and it’s very inexpensive. My only complaint is that if the metal plate is more than slightly off center the phone will start to tilt sideways as you drive, but that’s a very minor annoyance.
I use a similar magnet/metal plate system, with the magnet permanently glued to the windshield. I love it for holding my phone, but the metal plate seems to block wireless charging.
ETA: Mine is Scosche brand from Amazon, but now all I can find is the suction-cup version.
The vent-mount looks intriguing; only, I use my vents. The CD mount looks interesting because who uses CDs anymore? But I wonder if it would interfere with my use of the compartment on the bottom. Mrs. L.A. has a suction mount for her rear-view video monitor. It sticks a while, but when I drove her RAV last Summer I didn’t like having to stick it up every time. It doesn’t seem to bother her. (That reminds me, I need to get rear-view video in the Prius sometime.)
I’ve never looked into wireless chargers. I remember seeing a commercial a couple of years ago where someone tossed a smartphone onto a disc, and our toothbrush charges wirelessly on a little stud. I assume my iPhone 6S can be charged wirelessly?
I guess it depends on how often you use the phone mount. I keep mine stored in the armrest storage bin unless I need to use my phone to navigate to somewhere unfamiliar, which isn’t all that often. And when I am using the phone mount, having one out of the four dash vents blocked doesn’t really seem to diminish the overall effectiveness of the AC all that much.
I’ve been looking at these but it may be an even better fit for your car. FWIW, I have a dash cam mounted with one of these suction thingys and it goes no where.
I use a dashboard mounted phone holder. Once I drove for a while and was satisfied that I liked the location, etc, I epoxied the mount to my dash. I’ll likely do this again when I trade this wrangler in on my next wrangler.
I have one of those that glues to the dash, rather than clipping to the vent. The trick there is finding a spot on the dash that is vertical enough for the phone, big enough to stick the disk to, in a spot where you can see the phone and where the phone won’t block anything important.
My car has a perfect spot for it, my wife’s is less ideal but still works.
I use the same one. Love it. I’ve had others that were more like a clip but I didn’t like that you had to fiddle with it to get your phone in, so I got the magnetic one and it’s perfect. I got an extra one to keep in my travel bag for rental cars (though I frequently forget to retrieve them; good thing they’re cheap! ;)).
The same company also makes the same magnetic phone holder but mounted on an adhesive plate that you can stick anywhere. Good for if you don’t want to block one of your vents, or they’re in an inconvenient place, or they’re at a weird angle, like in my wife’s car.
One thing about vent-mounted phone holders, if you’re using the A/C or heat, you may want to close that vent. Hot or cold air blowing directly onto your cell phone for an extended period can do strange things to it.
The weighted friction mount would be good because it’s movable, and it worked well enough for the GPS in Hawaii. I wouldn’t be thrilled with where I’d have to place it, but it’s close. The vent mount has a good location, but I use that vent a lot. (Note: I want the phone to the right of the steering wheel.) In Summer, I like the air from it blowing on me. In Winter, I like the heat. I use the ‘a/c’ (which is also the heater) pretty much year-round. The ‘permanent’ mount swampspruce linked to would be good for where I’d want the phone – to the left of the MFD. It would have to be ‘just right’ though, because the mounting spot does not afford enough room for alternate placements. I took a look at the radio on the way home yesterday. It looks like there’s enough room to use the CD player mount without interfering with the always-used dashboard compartment.
That’s what I have and I love it. Before, I had the one that sticks in the A/C vent, but it blocks some of the airflow, and it doesn’t stay stuck on the vent that well.
I had a Prius with a dash very similar to your photo. I used an iOttie holder. I attached the suction cup to the plastic panel underneath the center control console, but the suction cup will stick to nearly anything, even that soft textured plastic carmakers use. In my new Prius I have it attached to the small triangular window to the left of the driver. (A saw an article that said the best place for your phone is to the left of the steering wheel.)
