Flat PopSockets Are Here (and I Like It Better Than OhSnap's Flat Grip)

The iconic phone grip has been redesigned and goes on sale today at Apple Stores.

Bridget Carey Editor at Large

Bridget Carey is an award-winning reporter who helps you level-up your life -- while having a good time geeking out. Her exclusive CNET videos get you behind the scenes as she covers new trends, experiences and quirky gadgets. Her weekly video show, "One More Thing," explores what's new in the world of Apple and what's to come. She started as a reporter at The Miami Herald with syndicated newspaper columns for product reviews and social media advice. Now she's a mom who also stays on top of toy industry trends and robots. (Kids love robots.)

Bridget has spent over 18 years as a consumer tech reporter, hosting daily tech news shows and writing syndicated newspaper columns. She's often a guest on national radio and television stations, including ABC, CBS, CNBC and NBC.

3 min read

Since launching in 2014, PopSockets have always been a quirky (and slightly bulky) grip for phones. They're adored by those who love to accessorize their phones with their swappable designs and people who love to fidget with their accordion-style pop-out piece. But the company is now hoping to attract a new clientele with the Low-Pro, a new grip design that's so thin that when collapsed, it sits lower than the camera bump on my iPhone 17 Pro Max.

The Low-Pro goes on sale Tuesday for $40, launching first at Apple Stores and at PopSockets.com, with additional retailers at the end of July. You can see more of how it works in the latest episode of One More Thing, embedded below:

Watch this: Flat PopSockets Might Lure More Men: Hands-On With Low-Pro Grips

05:28

I've been using the MagSafe Low-Pro for the past week, and I can see the appeal this will have for those folks who just want something that slips effortlessly into their pants pockets. Like other PopSockets, it still attaches with the MagSafe magnetic backing. The front has a soft matte finish, and although it doesn't make a "pop," a finger nudge in any direction will raise the disk to reveal a slitted, flexible single piece of polymer. A metal ring around the edge becomes an adjustable swing-out stand to prop up your phone in portrait and landscape mode.

When the Low-Pro is expanded, it reminds me of a kid's paper lantern craft project. Thinner materials give the impression that it will be weaker, but no matter how I twist, tug or try to poke at the holes, the material holds up. Good news for fidget-lovers: This seems to be able to handle all my stretching -- and the PopSockets team tells me it was designed to withstand more than 30 pounds of pulling pressure in testing.

Apple Stores will carry the Low-Pro in four exclusive colors to start: Blue Aura, Electric Fuchsia, Black and Navy.

PopSocket is not the first to come up with a flush magnetic phone grip. The company OhSnap gained popularity for its Snap Grip, priced at $30, which uses a metal hinge to fold flat. But since using both, I prefer the PopSocket design because it's easier to open with one finger from any angle, and it has the extra kickstand.

I sat down with PopSocket inventor and founder David Barnett to learn more about the pivot to the Low-Pro. Although the PopSockets company will continue making the existing design (the one that actually pops), Barnett said the big motivator here for a new model was to lure in men who told him over the years they never gave PopSockets a chance because of their size.

"They'd say, 'Oh, it would get caught on my pocket,' and I'd think to myself, It's never gotten caught on my pocket ever," Barnett said. "Ultimately, I wanted a solution that would meet this challenge of not being perceived as thick and bulky."

There is an extra benefit to this thinner design -- you don't have to take off your Low-Pro if you want to connect it to a MagSafe stand to charge. Just don't count on it getting a fast charge: the more stuff between your phone and the charger (like a case and a grip), the slower the trickle of energy will be to your device.

But often I use MagSafe stands to prop up my phone at work. And for once, it meant I didn't have to pop off my PopSocket to have it snap magnetically.

Phones

Foldable Phones

Headphones

Mobile Accessories

Smartwatches

Wireless Plans

BRIDGET CAREY

Editor at Large

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