Belkin makes MagSafe iPhone mount for desktop owners who want a better webcam

providing continuity — Belkin makes MagSafe iPhone mount for desktop owners who want a better webcam The first version of the mount was only sized to work with MacBooks.

Andrew Cunningham – Dec 15, 2022 9:51 pm UTC Enlarge / An iPhone 13 Pro stuck to Belkin’s MagSafe camera mount for laptops. The desktop version works similarly, just with a different design for thicker screens.Andrew Cunningham reader comments 35 with 0 posters participating Share this story Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Reddit Further ReadingmacOS 13 Ventura: The Ars Technica review

The Continuity Camera feature was one of the headliners in the macOS Ventura update: Any Mac can now use any compatible iPhone as a webcam via a Lightning cable or a wireless connection. And any iPhone camera is a significant upgrade over the 720p and 1080p webcams that ship with iMacs and most of the 1080p desktop webcams from the likes of Logitech, Microsoft, and Razer (for Mac mini and Pro owners with no built-in webcam).

The problem is finding a place to put your iPhone while you try to use it as a camera. Belkin made a MagSafe mount that could quickly clip an iPhone to the top edge of a MacBook, but the retention clip is too narrow to use with most desktop monitors. A new version of the mount, announced today, has been created with a wider base and a sort of kickstand to help it fit on top of most desktop monitors. Advertisement Enlarge / Belkin’s MagSafe iPhone mount for desktops has a thicker base that sits on top of monitors, plus a kickstand that braces it against the back of your screen.Belkin

As of this writing, the Belkin iPhone Mount (Magsafe Compatible) for Mac Desktops is listed on Apple’s site for $29.95, though a Belkin representative informed us that the correct price is $39.95. The product photos show it sitting astride a Studio Display, which includes a front-facing camera similar to the one Apple includes in iPads, but image quality has been a mixed bag.

As a MagSafe accessory, the Belkin mount will only work with a subset of the iPhones that support the Continuity Camera feature. MagSafe is included in all iPhone 12, iPhone 13, and iPhone 14 models (Pro, mini, Max, and otherwise), while Continuity Camera works with phones as old as 2018’s iPhone XR. To support Continuity Camera, your Mac needs to be running macOS Ventura, and your phone needs to be running iOS 16.0 or newer. reader comments 35 with 0 posters participating Share this story Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Reddit Andrew Cunningham Andrew is a Senior Technology Reporter at Ars Technica with over a decade of experience in consumer tech, covering everything from PCs to Macs to smartphones to game consoles. His work has appeared in the New York Times’ Wirecutter and AnandTech. He also records a weekly book podcast called Overdue. Email andrew.cunningham@arstechnica.com // Twitter @AndrewWrites Advertisement Channel Ars Technica ← Previous story Next story → Related Stories Today on Ars