The Ultimate Guide: Why Choosing an Affordable Smartphone Prop Is Key for Every Tech Enthusiast

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First, you buy a phone. Then you buy stuff for your phone. Fortunately, one of the best accessories you can buy costs less than a case or screen protector. It’s a phone stand. And like phone chargers, I now have stands spread throughout the house, in my bag, and on my desk. Why?

There’s Now a Phone Stand In Every Shape, Size, and Style

Do an Amazon search for phone stands and you’ll find they come in just about any form you could want. Some are sleek and made of metal. Some have telescoping poles that can raise your phone to eye level. Some are transparent so that you don’t pay them much attention when they’re not in use. Some are even tall enough to put on the floor. You’re bound to find one that looks so awesome that you actively want to go out of your way to use it.

I chose one that was cheap (but didn’t feel cheap), didn’t come with branding, and could fold small enough to slip into a pocket. It came in a two-pack for only $10 , which was a nice bonus. My wife took a liking to them, too, so we now have at least six in various places.

Videos Are Better When Your Hands Are Free

Bertel King / How-To Geek

I don’t own a TV. When I want to watch a movie on a larger screen, I hook my phone up to a portable external monitor or plug in a pair of AR glasses. It’s for that reason that video out is one of the specs I make sure not to overlook when buying a phone . Still, most of the time, I watch videos directly on my phone’s screen. That’s probably true for most of us.

Holding a phone for the length of a 30-minute video isn’t great, and enduring a feature-length movie is almost a non-starter. For this reason alone, it’s worth getting a stand. I can pop my phone on a stand on the kitchen counter to watch repeats of Boy Meets World while I do dishes or stream YouTube on a stand in my bedroom while I fold clothes. A phone stand also holds the phone when eating in a car or riding on a plane.

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Get More Fun Out of Mobile Gaming

Bertel King / How-To Geek

Many mobile games, especially ports, play much better with a Bluetooth gamepad (I’m looking at you, Dead Cells). But if you’re holding the gamepad, what’s holding the phone? I’ve spent enough time trying to prop my phone up against the back of a sofa or against a pillow to say I’m over it.

You can buy a phone clip that attaches your phone to your controller , but I don’t like either the look or the feel of those. Telescopic controllers like the GameSir G8 Galileo are a great option, but I’ve settled on using my favorite Bluetooth controller (the 8BitDo Pro 2 ) and a phone stand. This way I can stick with the same controller regardless of whether I’m gaming at a computer monitor or using AR glasses.

Gaming on the phone atop a stand is not all that different from using a Nintendo Switch with the Joy-Cons removed. Depending on your phone, there isn’t all that big a difference in the size of your screen. Most phones have a screen comparable to or larger than the Switch’s 6.2 inches. I own a Galaxy Z Fold 5, so my phone’s 7.6-inch screen is actually bigger than that of a Switch OLED .

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More Relaxed, More Focused Video Calls

I don’t particularly enjoy taking part in video calls, but if I have to make one, I don’t want to carry my phone while I do. Yeah, I know that’s how people video chat in films. My wife does it. It’s fine, but it’s not for me.

That’s where my stand comes in handy. I can drop my phone on a stand and continue doing what I’m doing. It’s even more useful for lengthy Zoom calls. I can angle the screen just right while still keeping my hands free to take notes or read along during virtual book discussions. One of the big lessons of 2020 is that you can do virtually anything during a Zoom call, and phone stands help with that.

Taking Timed Seflies, Group Photos, and Videos

A phone stand won’t replace a tripod for professional work, but it’s far more casual to use around the house. Want to record you and your kids playing with toys? Drop a phone stand on the floor, and boom, you’re capturing a memory even though your partner isn’t there to record it for you.

A phone stand can serve as a basic tripod for taking timed photos of yourself or for being part of group photos when you’re the photographer. One of the best features of foldable phones like the Galaxy Z Flip 5 is that they serve as their own tripod, but a simple phone stand extends this luxury to any phone.

Follow Recipes Without Making Your Phone a Mess

Bertel King / How-To Geek

My wife and I have a shelf full of cookbooks, but more often than not, our recipes come from either a cooking app for Android or some website.

Holding a phone isn’t ideal when working with a knife, so we keep a phone stand around in the kitchen to make recipes easier to read. It’s easy to angle the stand back enough to keep text visible while standing. You also only need to have one dry finger to scroll through all the ads and paragraphs of filler to get to the actual recipe, rather than having to wipe down your whole hand.

Writing With a Keyboard and Mouse

Bertel King/How-To Geek

Most of us may not think of our phones as the place to sit down and bang out our manuscript, but for those who do, there are times when it helps to have a physical keyboard. Sure, virtual keyboards have come a long way, and some people tap out words faster on a touchscreen than when sitting down at a PC, but most of us aren’t tapping out lengthy papers with our thumbs.

Smartphones have long paired to Bluetooth keyboards and mice just fine, but to get the most out of that experience, you need somewhere to put your phone. With your phone propped up on a stand (and airplane mode toggled on), the experience isn’t all that different from using a digital typewriter like the Freewrite Alpha . Some Bluetooth keyboards even have phone stands built-in, but there’s no need to buy one if you already have a small, pocketable phone stand lying around.

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Using My Phone While Charging

There’s nothing to stop you from using your phone while charging, but for me, the cord just feels in the way. Flat slabs don’t need any help being less comfortable to hold as it is. I like to pair charging with putting my phone on a stand. That way the phone still feels accessible without the cord feeling like a tether.

With fast chargers, it’s not like the phone’s going to spend much time on the stand anyway. I typically pair this with another activity, such as having my phone charge while watching a video or while typing away on my keyboard. As someone who has replaced my PC with Samsung DeX , one of the downsides is I have to charge my phone more often, so filling up overnight doesn’t cut it. Stands help take some of the sting out of needing to juice up often.

Could I go back to using a phone without a stand? Sure, but I wouldn’t enjoy it. Instead, I think I might just place another order for two more.

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The Ultimate Guide: Why Choosing an Affordable Smartphone Prop Is Key for Every Tech Enthusiast