Belkin's new iPhone 12 magnetic stand can follow you around — here's how

News
By Jordan Palmer
published

The pivoting iPhone 12 stand doesn't work with video calls, though

magnetic mount with face tracking
(Image credit: Belkin)

When Apple introduced MagSafe with the iPhone 12 series, it promised a slew of accessories designed to take advantage of the ring of magnets. While we haven't the full realization of the dream just yet, some accessory companies are slowly rolling out accessories that take advantage of MagSafe.

The newest among these is Belkin, with its aptly named Magnetic Mount with Face Tracking. Yes, that last part of the name is real — the iPhone stand does track your face and adjusts itself accordingly. While it sounds whacky and cool, there's one thing about the Belkin accessory that should temper your excitement.

Belkin's Magnetic Mount carries a harsh limitation — it doesn't track you when you're making video calls, whether that's in FaceTime or third-party apps like Zoom or Duo. Arguably the biggest use case for this thing, face tracking could make video calls more interesting. Instead, Belkin opted not to go that route, which seems like a lost opportunity.

So what can you use the Magnetic Mount for? Well, there's a catch with that, too. The face tracking-based movement only works in the Belkin iOS app. You have to be recording video, in fact. This could be an error or omission in the documentation, but it'd be a glaring one if so.

We should note that Belkin says its app can connect to social media platforms like Facebook, TikTok, and more. If you're recording yourself moving around a lot, it would be cool for the phone to adjust its position to keep you in center frame. Obviously, this use case is cool, but it pigeonholes the stand into a very niche market. We think that video calls are where it might shine, especially if you want to step back to show your family an outfit or something.

The Belkin mount works in both portrait and landscape mode and can be tilted from -15 degrees to 30 degrees. It can fully rotate, and three AA batteries power it. Since it's a MagSafe accessory, the Magnetic Mount will only work with the iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max. 

You can buy the Magnetic Mount with Face Tracking for $64.99 directly from Belkin's website, where it is listed as "coming soon." 

Jordan Palmer
Jordan Palmer
Phones Editor

Jordan is the Phones Editor for Tom's Guide, covering all things phone-related. He's written about phones for over six years and plans to continue for a long while to come. He loves nothing more than relaxing in his home with a book, game, or his latest personal writing project. Jordan likes finding new things to dive into, from books and games to new mechanical keyboard switches and fun keycap sets. Outside of work, you can find him poring over open-source software and his studies.