Installation and Performance
Installing the Snap 4 Luxe is easy, but knowing exactly where to install it can be a little more complicated. You want to have it right on top of your wireless charging on your phone and that can be different from phone to phone. Once you have the correct location though, you clean the surface then peal the thin cover off of the adhesive layer and stick the Snap 4 Luxe down.
I installed the Snap 4 Luxe on my Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, not directly on the phone but on the case. I run a TPU case from Ringke which has a matt finish. When I originally put the pop socket on the case, I was concerned it wouldn’t stick well. But after running that for so long, I wasn’t concerned at all about putting the Snap 4 Luxe on it just as long as I cleaned it ahead of time. As long as you have a flat surface it should work, but if you are trying to take advantage of the Mag-Go compatibility a thinner case is going to be better.
Speaking of the Popsocket though, having that installed before the Snap 4 Luxe gave me a great chance to get a 1 to 1 comparison between the two when it comes to overall thickness and this is the main reason I was interested in the Snap 4 Luxe. With the Popsocket installed, it was thick enough that my phone would never sit flat and the thickness also caused issues when putting my phone in my drone controller as well. The pop socket and my phone/case came in at 18.65 mm thick. For comparison, the Snap 4 Luxe on the phone was 14.13 mm thick. You wouldn’t think that would make a difference, but between that and not having the rounded surface of the pop socket lets my phone sit flat. It is still a hair thicker than the camera bump out, but with that, it offers the camera a little protection without being wobbly.
The Snap 4 Luxe is similar in some ways to how a Pop Socket works, but not entirely. It has the outer MagSafe compatible ring with an aluminum cover, then inside is the flip-out grip. That grip is shockingly thin and made of a custom polymer to give it strength. That lid surprised me, I thought it had to be metal because you can’t bend or flex it. Then under that they have a web of arms that when you pull on the lid stretch out and let you flip the lid in either direction. Those arms let you put your fingers on the outside of them or slip in between the arms depending on the grip that you prefer. This ends up being a lot thinner than a Pop Socket but because of the design you do have to get the grip lined up, you can’t grab it from the top down. That entire grip assembly in the center then can spin in the center of the outer ring helping you get that grip no matter how you want to hold your phone. The lid has magnets in it and that is what holds the grip down when it isn’t in use and gives that signature “Snap” as well.
While I installed the orange model on my phone, here is a look at the standard all-black version as well which is going to look better on most phones.
I’ve been using the Snap 4 Luxe for over a month now and coming from the Pop Socket the Snap 4 Luxe does have a few different benefits and downsides. The thin design has to be the biggest benefit, I had issues with the add-on Pop Socket not letting my already big phone fit when using my drone, but that went away right away. But where I saw the biggest difference was just putting my phone down on things. The rounded head on the Pop Socket combined with its thickness turned my phone into a Weeble Wobble. The Snap 4 Luxe on the other hand is flat and my phone sits flat. It is just thick enough that when I put the phone down it isn’t sitting on the face of the camera bumpout either so there is still protection there.
One of the downsides to the design though is you do have to work a little more to flip the grip out. With a Pop Socket, you just slide your hand onto your phone and it pops out, with the Snap 4 Luxe you need to push down on it to unsnap the magnet. Then slide a finger under it to get a grip. Because of that, there are times when I would normally flip the grip out but I don’t. Once the grip is out though, it fits my fingers well no matter how I grab it. I like that the flexibility of the arms can fit different hand sizes. Spinning your phone around on it can be fun as well.
With a ring of magnets in the outside ring of the Snap 4 Luxe, you can stick your phone anywhere a magnet would stick. This worked well with the stainless steel in our kitchen. Once you trust it, it could even be useful as a way to keep your phone up and visible when cooking to read a recipe. But given the popularity of short-form videos, streaming, and even just selfies. This is also a great way to be able to stick your phone to something to get a hands-free camera angle. For some, that might be the best reason to use the Snap 4 Luxe, even if you aren’t using the grip itself often, just being able to mount your phone to something without having to carry anything else around is worth it. That said, anyone using the Snap 4 Luxe in that way will most likely also be heavily using the grip when filming as well.
The other thing you can use the magnetic ring for is of course using chargers and devices designed for Apple's MagSafe. The most obvious use is with wireless charging, but there are other MagSafe devices including mounts for your car, stands if you need a flip-out stand, and even mounts to keep your phone on top of your monitor. Things get even crazier when you get into MagSafe wallets. Wireless charging is still the most common though and to check that out I did reach out to Anker and they sent over a few devices to try things out. They sent one of their Power Banks over and the MagGo Magnetic Charging Station. The Power Bank looks a lot like other pocketable power banks and if you aren’t using the MagGo functionality at the time it does still work that way with one Type-C connection that can be used to charge it or output from. But its main feature is being able to just magnetically stick to your phone and wirelessly charge. It also has a flip-out stand as well. I was worried that I wouldn’t have the Snap 4 Luxe attached in the correct spot but this does work, I must be close to being wrong or the thickness of the Snap combined with my phone case is pushing things because sometimes it takes a wiggle to get things up and running. The charging station functions the same, but it is a desktop charger. It has three AC power outlets and four USB ports on the front with two being 67-watt Type-C connections and the other two are Type-A 12W ports on the back. So if you need to charge faster the option is there. I prefer a wired charge normally, but this is great to be able to keep your phone topped off and keep it in one spot. Or you can put this next to the bed and let it wirelessly charge at night. Either way though, the idea is that it is there ready and waiting for when you need it.
