Article Image

Joby’s new iPhone camera accessories have MagSafe built in

Joby has launched a set of new iPhone camera accessories that use Apple's MagSafe technology, making them ideal for mobile vlogging and general at-home use.

Photography accessory maker Joby has adopted Apple’s MagSafe technology for three new iPhone-specific mounts — the GripTight Mount for MagSafe, GripTight GorillaPod for MagSafe, and the GripTight Wall Mount for MagSafe. Each is designed to work with the MagSafe compatible iPhone 12 range, and hold your phone safely and securely in a variety of different situations.

The GripTight Mount for MagSafe looks very similar to many phone mounts, but the secret here is the MagSafe connection on the back to hold your phone in place. What’s clever is the phone can be secured either solely by MagSafe in a vertical or horizontal orientation, or provided extra hold using a hybrid clamp system. The clamps can be folded away until needed, such as situations where the phone is held at an angle and you don’t want to fully entrust the phone’s safety to MagSafe.

There are three separate mounting points on the base of the GripTight Mount for MagSafe which are compatible with Joby’s and other manufacturer’s mounts. If you want the whole kit, Joby’s new GripTight GorillaPod for MagSafe bundles the standard GripTight Mount together with its versatile GorillaPod mount, ready to hold in your hand like a grip, or wrap around various objects for static shots. The GripTight Mount for MagSafe’s three mounting points let you attach Joby’s Beamo Mini LED light and Wavy Mobile microphone too, ready to make a MagSafe version of its mobile vlogging system.

The final new product is the GripTight Wall Mount for MagSafe. The circular MagSafe mount is attached to a suction cup designed for smooth, flat surfaces, so useful for general use around the home, or as part of an at-home vlogging kit. It’s designed with a cable management system built-in, where you can wrap a charging cable or headphone cables around the mount to keep everything neat and tidy. None of Joby’s MagSafe products include charging though.

The GripTight Wall Mount for MagSafe is the cheapest of Joby’s new products at $25, while the GripTight Mount for MagSafe costs $39.95, and the kit with the GripTight Mount and the GorillaPod together costs $70. All the new accessories will be available to buy from today through Joby’s own website or Amazon. To use them you need an iPhone 12 Mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, or iPhone 12 Pro Max. The upcoming iPhone 12S or iPhone 13 models will almost certainly contain MagSafe technology too, so you can buy with confidence even if you’re thinking of upgrading when the new models are released.

Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.

Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.

Samsung’s scandal over its Game Optimizing Service, or GOS, has returned with a bill attached. South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission has tentatively fined the company 20.1 billion won, or about $15.1 million, over gaming claims made for the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S22, and Tab S8.

The regulator says Samsung promoted the devices as gaming powerhouses without disclosing that GOS placed preset CPU and GPU limits on certain demanding games. Samsung disputes that conclusion, calling GOS a legitimate way to manage heat.

Apple's next cheaper iPhone could get a brand-new processor while keeping its most stubborn display compromise. Digital Chat Station tips the iPhone 18e for a 2027 release with a 2nm A20 chip and a 6.12-inch OLED screen still limited to 60Hz.

The rumored camera setup includes a single 48MP rear camera and a possible 24MP selfie camera. There's new hardware to consider, but buyers hoping Apple would extend that upgrade generosity to smoother scrolling could be disappointed.