Car and Motorcycle Mounts for the Samsung Galaxy Note 5

Released in August 2015, the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 also known as the Note5 is the latest entry in their highly popular phablet line.

The size of the Samsung Galaxy Note 5  is a little smaller than the previous generation.  With a big 5.7″ Quad HD Super AMOLED display screen using Gorilla Glass 4 this phone is 6.03 inches tall by 3.0 inches wide.  These are important measurements to keep in mind when selecting your mount.

For those with any custom mount which features a cradle specifically made for a previous generation, they might fit as the differences between the Note 4 and Note 5 are very slight so you should give it a try before purchasing a new cradle.  For those that have purchased a universal mount to hold your older phone, hopefully it opens wide enough to hold your new device without a problem.  Most universal mounts offer options to upgrade your cradle to a larger one.  Be very aware of the size of any cradle, this is a very large phone that may not fit in many cradles.  A lot of older cradles only open to 3″ so if you have a case or skin, it’s time for a new mount.

Speaking of cases, like most Samsung Galaxy series smartphones, these aren’t cheap.  Buy a case for it.  I have always liked the Otterbox Defender series which we reviewed here, but there are lots of others.  Invest about $25 or so.  A single drop on ceramic tile that results in a broken lens will cost way more than the case.  If you think insurance will cover you, think again.  Insurance policies purchased from your carrier have a deductible and for newer more expensive phones that can be $169 on up.  So to add insult to injury, you will not only be paying the monthly insurance premium, but you will then pay the deductible.  You can read our article on phone insurance here.  Just buy a case.

Now we can discuss mounts.  We’re going to stick with mounts with expandable cradles that will be large enough to hold the Note 5 along with a case or skin.  Note this is a brand new phone so a lot of the mounts that you may see will not specify Note 5 yet.  If there’s an expandable cradle and it mentions a Note 4 on the compatibility, it’s a safe bet a Samsung Galaxy Note 5 will fit too.

For the car, give the location of your mount some thought.  There are lots of places to mount your Samsung Galaxy Note 5.  The windshield is the most popular location to mount especially if you plan to use it as a GPS with my favorite application which is Waze.  We continue to like the  Arkon’s Megagrip Travel Mount for this purpose.  This mount has the necessary expandable cradle which expands to 3.4 inches by pressing the button at the lower left corner.  This will fit your phone with or without a case.  The mount comes with an adhesive dash plate so that you can attach to the mount to your dash as well as your windshield.  A photo of this mount in the dashboard configuration accompanies this article.  This dash disk is handy for states that do not permit windshield mounts which we documented in a recent article.

Next up for consideration is the iKross Car Cup Holder Phone Mount.  The cup holder base is expandable from 2.7 to 3.7 inches.  It will fit almost any vehicle’s cup holder.  There is a 12″ flexible stem that allows bending of the mount to the right angle for the driver or passenger.  The phone can rotate into portrait or landscape.  The expandable cradle opens to 8 inches so it will fit your phone with or without a case or skin.  This mount comes with a one-year warranty.

The Spigen Magnetic Vent Mount for SmartPhones is an excellent choice for your vent.  This mount can be used on horizontal and vertical vents.  Right around eye level and out of the way of potential thieves, the vent is a good location for mounting a lightweight device.  Check your vent to make sure it’s well made enough to hang a lightweight device.  A recent innovation is mounts is the use of a small magnet coupled with a very thin adhesive metal disk which sticks to the back of your phone.  The great thing about magnetic mounts is the simple process for install and removal.  It’s a simple matter of simply matching up where the metal strip is to the magnet.

For motorcycle use, it’s important that you select a mount that has a well constructed cradle that is going to hold your Samsung Galaxy Note 5 very tightly so that it stays put through the vibration of a ride.  We continue to recommend the RAM X-Grip line.  These are heavy-duty mounts that are mostly constructed of metal and feature a lifetime warranty.  The mount has gone through some rigorous shake tests and holds up well on a motorcycle.  We wrote about X-Grips extensively on this site and you can view that article here.  Most motorcycles can use the RAM X-Grip IV Handlebar Mount.  These mounts feature the expandable X-Grip IV cradle which can open to 4.5 inches which is large enough for most cases.  We always recommend tethering your device for added security.