5+ Best Car Phone Holders Australia

Are you looking for the best car phone holders Australia has to offer?

With police forces across Australia cracking down on illegal phone use in the car, now is the time to get compliant. For under $50 you can avoid fines of up to $1000 for using your phone while driving.

Most modern cars have a built in phone slot that connects with your radio system however there are millions of cars that don’t have this functionality. If that’s you then you should definitely consider purchasing a car phone holder.

Why Buy Car Phone Holder?

There’s no argument that using your mobile phone in any way shape or form whilst driving is a no-no. It’s illegal. Yet we all have done it, and probably will do it again, even if just to access Google Maps and take a quick glance at the map whilst stopped at a red light. Who hasn’t sent a quick text while stopped at that red light? Or accessed social media!

Unless we have a proper car phone holder which does not require us to take our hands off the wheel or our eyes off the road for more than literally a second.

Those car phone holders cost a fortune though and most of us simply cannot afford them.

There are inexpensive options, however (under say $50) which do allow you to see your phone at eye level and access it without scrambling around in your handbag or on the seat.

So if you are using the GPS on your phone at least you can do it reasonably safely. You still shouldn’t be writing texts, making calls or doing much else with your phone but in an emergency perhaps at least it would be safer.

Please check your state’s laws around use of car phone holders as fines may apply.

1. UGREEN Car Air Vent Phone Holder

  • Wireless charging
  • Connects via air vent
  • Affordable and discreet

Using high-quality aluminium alloy metal arms in a triangular/pyramid shape, combined with textured silicone pads, this UGREEN air vent car phone holder firmly holds your iPhone in place

Neither your phone nor your car will scratch, even over bumps in the road, because the phone is held tightly by the silicone pads within the clamping structure.

The holder has a charging port reserve in its design enabling you to plug in the USB charging cable directly without blocking the structure.

The UGREEN is extremely easy to install, completely tool-free and with one hand. Once installed, the phone inserts from the top and locks securely into place by gravity.

This car phone holder is simple yet ingenious – small, not bulky, very sturdy and easily installed and removed. The phone slides in and out without any pressure needed. The perfect solution for hands-free driving.

NOTE: The holder’s design fits phones measuring up to 6.5” (screen size) and 10mm (thickness including case). It is compatible with most Apple iPhones and Samsung Galaxy phones plus some other brands. It’s best to check online if you have a different or unusual brand of phone.

It is also not suited to some air vents, including those which are arc-shaped, retraction or non-intensive. 


2. Qi Wireless Car Charger Mount

  • Fast wireless charging
  • 360-degree swivel viewing
  • Secure suction cup mount

The Qi Wireless Car Charging Mount is designed to support both standard wireless charging speed (iPhones) and fast wireless charging speed (1.4 times faster for certain Samsung Galaxy and Nexus models).

As these are car-mounted charging devices they also serve the purpose of hands-free phone use while driving.

They are designed to be mounted to the car’s windscreen, dashboard, air-conditioner outlet, or air vent. The unit has a highly adhesive suction cup attached, as well as an air vent mount.

There is a 360-degree rotating ball joint on both of the mounts which means that you can move the phone while you’re driving to get a better angle.

The phone is secure in the grasp of the charger because of the three sides which support it. The bottom simply provides a base.

The two side arms are electronic and automatically grip the phone as soon as it is inserted into the charger, with gravity also playing a major role in holding the phone in place.

The rear of the charger provides a secure non-slip surface for the phone to rest against.

To use the wireless charging function you need to plug the charger into a USB power source such as your cigarette lighter. The charging function will then start wirelessly when you place the phone into the mount.

The idea of having hands free use of your phone whilst driving and not using all your battery power up, especially on a long drive, is pretty exciting. Worth looking into a bit further.

Note: please ensure that the device is appropriate for your phone.


3. Wuteku Car Phone Holder

  • Simple sleek design
  • Magnetic attachment
  • Change angles

Using the force of magnets, Wuteko brings us their car phone holder for safe hands-free driving.

Because there are no mounts or arms or structural components, the phone can be placed on the magnetic base at any angle you like, horizontally or vertically.

So, if you prefer a landscape view for Google maps you can have it with the Wuteko phone holder.

Another bonus is that this holder is totally universal. It will be compatible with literally any phone you have because size and thickness do not matter.

Of course, the phone does need to be magnetic though! And that’s where the slim magnetic discs come into play.

The system needs to have both the mount and your phone to be attracted to each other so what you purchase are the holder itself and a slim magnetic disc to attach to the back of your phone. This disc can be attached on the inside of the case out of sight and it will still work.

The phone holder with a magnetic disc of its own then attaches to the dash of your car with ultra-high bond adhesive, ready to go.

Enjoy the freedom of easy to see GPS, calls and texts, all safely hands-free. You gotta love this!


4. Tryone Gooseneck Phone Holder

  • Good for truckies
  • Hold phone at any angle
  • Sturdy design

Compatible with pretty much any smartphone less than 3” in width and 13mm width, the Tryone Gooseneck Phone Holder is designed to sit on a flat surface such as a desk and hold your phone at pretty much any angle for easy access and use. 

The design requires that it be clamped on to a flat surface such as a table or desk. It is not self-supporting.

The height is 70cm (27.5”) in total with the flexible arm measuring 55cm (21.5”) of that total length. The clamp (screwed on to the baseboard) will fit up to 75mm (3”) thickness.

The holder is made from durable and attractive aluminium-magnesium alloy and ABS plastic.

The head of the holder rotates very easily in any direction, including face down, by loosening the screw fastening and then tightening it back into the new position. The clamp on the desk or other surface has rubber feet to ensure no scratches on the furniture.

The Gooseneck is very durable and strong. A simple yet functional design which also looks good. An excellent accessory for hands-free phone video calls, recording, etc.

Perfect for truckies, large cabs with somewhere to mount the clamp.

(Note: there are size limitations on this phone holder. Please check before purchasing, especially the question and answers.)


5. CHOETECH Wireless Car Charger

  • Holder and charger
  • Clips into air vents
  • Requires power source

The CHOETECH Wireless Car Charger and Mount is an innovative device which resolves those modern-day problems we have around our reliance on mobile phones and the safety issues around driving and having our phones on while doing so.

There are quite a lot of devices out there aimed at solving this problem and thankfully they are becoming more affordable for the everyday man in the street. This is one of them.

The CHOETECH charger and holder is a two-in-one device: it’s a phone holder and a wireless phone charger all in one. The best of both worlds – you can drive for as long as you want with this car phone holder and still be able to use your phone.

Firstly, the holder clips securely into the car’s air vent with a non-slip clamp which has a hook on the end to secure it.

The design of the holder itself is a fairly simple one which uses gravity and triangular linkage to hold the phone securely against a secure backrest and sitting on a slim base with two soft silicone arms which clamp automatically around the sides of the phone as soon as the phone is placed into the device. Note that the use of soft silicone prevents the holder from scratching your phone or your car.

The charging function itself is wireless and has both normal speed and fast charging mode. The holder has an auto charging sensor which detects the phone when it’s placed in the holder and starts charging. The charger needs to be connected with a USB cable to a power source such as your car’s cigarette lighter port.

This phone holder/charger is great value for the price, like many other options out there. Certainly worth a closer look at.

(Note: This device may not suit your particular phone. Please check online before purchasing.)


Is it legal to use a car phone holder?

The laws around car phone holders are probably not very well understood by most drivers, and it is a state by state issue.

The reality is that ‘taking your eyes off the road for two seconds or more doubles your crash risk.’

Holding your mobile phone is absolutely illegal in every Australian state and territory, whether you’re mobile or stationary in traffic. 

But hands-free phone use is OK. In 2012 the National Road Safety Standards and Australian Road Rules were unified and it is now legal to use a mobile phone whilst driving if it is ‘secured in a mounting affixed to the vehicle’ and (perhaps more importantly) it does not require the driver to touch it in any way.

So the legal position is that you can have a phone holder but in some states you are not legally permitted to touch your phone while you are driving, even if you’re stationary, while in traffic. Most of the dash-mounted phone holders need you to touch the phone to use it.

But Bluetooth is your saviour here as it enables you to make and receive calls hands free. GPS or music or a podcast set before you embark on the trip is probably the only other things you can use your phone for unless you have a truly hands-free phone holder installed in your vehicle with steering wheel controls.


Are magnetic phone holders bad for your device?

The simple answer to this question is no. The internal parts of a mobile phone are made from non-magnetic materials so magnets won’t affect them. Phones don’t have hard disk drive memories either, they use flash memories, so that’s not an issue either.

GPS uses satellites, not magnetic compasses, to determine location so that’s not affected by magnets.  And a phone’s batteries aren’t going to be affected either as they are lithium-ion which involve a chemical reaction.

Theoretically, a phone’s speakers might be affected by a magnet but the size of the magnet in a car phone holder is so insignificant that it won’t affect a phone’s speaker performance.

And the phone’s case won’t be affected either.


How do wireless charging phone holders work?

To be able to wirelessly charge your phone you need a smartphone which supports wireless charging (or a case which does), and a wireless charger.

The wireless charger is generally a small mat that looks like a mini mouse-pad. The charging mats come in different wattage which determines the speed at which they will charge.

Wireless charging uses electromagnetic induction technology to transfer energy from the charging mat to the phone in the form of an alternating current, which the receiver in the back of the phone converts into electricity to be fed back into the battery.

The charger and the back of the phone need to be closely aligned for this process to work.

Wireless charging is useful in many situations and cars are one of them. There are car phone holders with wireless charging capabilities and if you’re on a long trip and using the phone for eg GPS function this is a very useful accessory to have.

And there are many other times we can think of when we’ve been away from our phone charger all day and the phone is almost dead when wireless charging in the car would be a bonus.

So, of course, it’s a choice, but if all else were equal I’d go for the car phone holder with the wireless charger.

Kirsty Scott

Last Updated: December 2, 2021 by Rhys