iOttie Easy One Touch 5 review: A strong and secure dashboard mount

Over the years, I've found that one of the most useful accessories that you can have in your car, aside from a dash cam, is a car mount for your iPhone or smartphone. We have come to rely on our smart devices in the car for things like navigation and music, but most places require hands-free operation because otherwise, distracted driving is dangerous. That's why car mounts are so incredibly useful to have, and one of my favorite options comes from iOttie.

I was previously using the iOttie Easy One Touch 4, but the company has now released an upgraded version: Easy One Touch 5. For the most part, this new version is mostly the same, but with some nice improvements.

Solid and sturdy dashboard mount

iOttie Easy One Touch 5 Dash & Windshield Mount: Features

One of the best things about iOttie's mounts is the fact that they are super easy to set up and install. In the box, you get three main components: the dashboard pad, the telescopic arm with suction cup at the bottom, and the mount cradle. To put it together, you just connect the mount cradle to the telescopic arm via a ball joint, then tighten it together with the cradle knob. Put the dashboard pad on your car's dash, then remove the film from the suction cup and press it firmly on top of the dashboard pad. Easy!

Please note that if you plan on using this on your windshield instead of dash, iOttie advises against using the dashboard pad on your windshield. Just stick the suction cup onto the windshield directly instead.

The telescopic arm of the One Touch 5 is improved over its predecessor. It can extend from 5-inches to 8-inches, while the viewing angle can be adjusted 225-degrees. For reference, the One Touch 4 could only extend 6.5-inches. The cradle knob can also be loosened so you can change and lock it to landscape orientation if necessary.

What the longer extension means is that you can have your iPhone closer to you when you need it, such as when you need to respond to changes in turn-by-turn navigation, answering a phone call on speakerphone, and more. Since your phone can be closer to you, it's less struggling trying to reach your phone while driving. The ball joint also means the mount is flexible, and you can turn it left and right as needed.

The magic behind iOttie's mounts is the one-touch trigger button. With the One Touch 5, this button has a new finish, which feels softer to the touch and is gray in color with diagonal ridges going across it. It's a more subtle design than the original, and I can appreciate it. The trigger button works by detecting any pressure applied to it, such as when you place your phone in the cradle, and then the side arms lock in place. To release your phone from the cradle, just push in on the two release bars on the side. The Easy One Touch 5 works with phone and case combinations from 2.3-inches to 3.5-inches, so you should have no problem with compatibility.

A new feature with the One Touch 5 is the magnetic cord organizer, which is located on the back of the bottom foot. iOttie includes a magnetic tab in the box, which you can wrap around your iPhone charging cable in the car. This allows you to make any cable magnetically cling into place on the mount foot, so you don't have to fumble around looking for your charging cable.

My favorite dash mount keeps getting better

iOttie Easy One Touch 5 Dash & Windshield Mount: What I Like

I only recently made the switch to a dashboard mount in my car. For several years, I was just using a Kenu Airframe+ in my vent, but I grew tired of it blocking part of my vent's airflow (I have the AC on most of the time) and I wanted something that offered more flexibility. I ended up purchasing the iOttie Easy One Touch 4 last December. While that is a much shorter time frame than how long I had the Kenu, I quickly grew to prefer dash mounts over vent mounts.

While the Easy One Touch 4 served me well for the past six months, I am happy to have the new version. The longer extension with the telescopic arm means it's easier for me to reach my iPhone when I need to, and the magnetic cable organizer is a nice addition.

And if you're wondering how the Easy One Touch 5 (or 4, for that matter) hold up while driving, I have had no issues. The suction cup and dashboard pad have an incredibly strong grip, so I feel like it can withstand pretty much anything, even the bumpiest of roads. The side arms also have a secure grip, so your iPhone really isn't going anywhere once it's locked in place.

That dashboard pad can be tough to remove

iOttie Easy One Touch 5 Dash & Windshield Mount: What I Don't Like

My only issue with the Easy One Touch dashboard pad is that since it's semi-permanent and designed for one-time use only, it's pretty much stuck there until you change your mind. Once you remove the pad, it cannot be re-mounted.

I was trying to remove the pad that I had placed for the previous iteration, but it's literally stuck on my dash, so I just removed the older version and stuck the new one on top of it. I figured this was fine since they're pretty much identical, and now I have a secondary dashboard pad. While this means that the dashboard pad keeps your mount and phone in place, it's a real pain to remove if you want to change to something else.

An affordable and necessary car accessory

iOttie Easy One Touch 5 Dash & Windshield Mount: The Bottom Line

If you're in the market for a car mount for your phone, then you cannot go wrong with iOttie Easy One Touch 5. It's strong, secure, and gives you a ton of flexibility while using it. Plus, that little magnetic cable organizer is quite nifty. Just make sure you put that dashboard pad in the right spot the first time, because it's semi-permanent and you can't reuse it.

Image 1 of 7