Pitaka MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2 review
Pitaka's MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2 is an excellent evolution of its original car charger with the added benefit of NFC-powered Shortcuts automation.
Car chargers don't seem like a place waiting for disruption. MagSafe made them much better at device presentation and charging, so there wasn't much else to do from there.
Rather than accepting that, Pitaka attempted to take the simple concept of a car charger further. It created a sleek plastic and aramid fiber build that secures a MagSafe-compatible iPhone with a strong grip.
As a bonus, it has a physical switch that the user can toggle to change NFC functions. There are three positions, giving the user some variability beyond what's possible with a single Shortcut.
MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2 review — design
The MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2 has a design similar to the original, which takes on a modern car-like design. It has curves, shiny plastic sides, and grooves, and it looks like it belongs as part of most modern infotainment systems.
MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2 review: aramid fiber and NFC
The flat front surface is covered with the same aramid fiber used in Pitaka's iPhone cases. The switch in the middle toggles the NFC setting, and an NFC icon is visible at the bottom.
The rear of the charger has an adjustment knob to adjust the tension of the vent clip. The vent clip connects to the main charger via a 17mm universal swivel ball, which means any compatible vent clip or dash mount can be swapped.
MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2 review: a slim, simple vent clip
The original MagEZ Car Mount Pro had an internal fan to cool the charging coils. Pitaka says the second-generation charger doesn't need fans thanks to improvements to the overall design.
The MagSafe magnets in the charger are strong enough to keep even the heavy iPhone 15 Pro Max aloft on bumpy roads. A MagSafe case will increase this grip strength further.
The wireless charger is rated at 15W for Android devices, while iPhones are limited to 7.5W. This is because it is neither certified MagSafe nor Qi2.
Using the MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2
The vent mount included with the MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2 is one of the better ones we've used. Others are large and difficult to mount in our Honda HR-V's awkward vents.
MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2 review: the vent clip sits flush and stable on the vent
Pitaka's included vent clip slipped right between the vents and fastened without effort. After tightening the ball joint, the iPhone stayed aloft and never sagged.
The charger connects over USB-C to a power supply plugged into the cigarette lighter. Pitaka doesn't include the power supply, but any 20W or better option should work without issue.
MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2 review: USB-C connection and a standard 17mm ball mount
Since the MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2 is powered over USB-C, it can be unplugged and plugged into our iPhone in a pinch. The 7.5W charging keeps our iPhone topped up for long trips, but if we're a little low and driving only 10 minutes down the road, wired 20W can add a lot more power.
Overall, Pitaka's car charger works great as a magnetic car charger and looks good. But that's not all it can do.
NFC automations
The switch at the base of the MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2 allows the user to switch between three NFC functions. These do nothing out of the box except show a link to Pitaka's website, but they can be used to program automations in Shortcuts that execute when tapped.
MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2 review: tapping the NFC symbol sets off a programmed automation
Three NFC tags mean three distinct automations. You can get creative with this by executing Shortcuts with complex if/and statements, but we kept it simple for the review.
Two of our automations were for media. Tapping one NFC chip would start my Apple Music station, while another would resume whatever Podcast is active in the Apple Podcasts app.
A third Shortcut we tested was automatically getting directions home and sending an ETA to our significant other. The nice thing about starting simple is we can easily add more steps as ideas come to mind.
MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2 review: setting up an automation in Shortcuts
Setting up the automation is the same every time.
- Open the Apple Shortcuts app and navigate to the Automation tab.
- Tap the "+" in the top right corner and select "NFC" as the trigger.
- Configure the settings as needed — we set the automation to run immediately without notification.
- Tap "Scan" and tap your iPhone to the NFC symbol on the charger.
- Tap "Next" and set up your Shortcut actions.
- Tap "Done" and your automation is ready.
Repeat this with the switch in all three positions to set up each automation. Tapping the iPhone to the NFC tag will now execute the automation associated with that switch color.
We noticed that the website notification occurs every time the iPhone is tapped. There doesn't seem to be a way to erase this from the NFC chip, but it isn't too much of an annoyance.
NFC in a simple, stylish car charger
Adding NFC to a MagSafe-compatible car charger makes it that much more useful. We're happy to see Shortcut automation executed in a different space, like inside a vehicle.
MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2 review: designed as part of a modern dash
The good design and unique feature set don't come at a premium cost, either. It's priced identically to the middling Car and Driver magnetic car mount we've reviewed previously.
If you're in the market for a better in-car charging solution, we can't recommend Pitaka's MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2 enough. It's especially great if you are an avid Shortcuts and automation user.
MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2 - Pros
- Well designed and disappears when the iPhone is attached
- USB-C power means iPhone wired fast charging is within reach
- Easily attach to other mounts if included vent mount isn't enough
- NFC is a bonus on an otherwise well-rounded charger
MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2 - Cons
- No power adapter included
- NFC tags have a website attached that can't be removed
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
It's difficult to consider how you'd improve something as straightforward as a vent-mounted magnetic car charger. NFC automations are novel enough to get this product 5 out of 5, but that annoying website notification isn't ideal.
Plus, including a simple power adapter would have been nice at this price.