I discovered the new PopMinis from Popsockets recently and decided to try them out. I really like having a phone grip/stand for my phone and these ones are so cute. Here’s my PopSockets PopMini Review:

WHY I LIKE USING A POPSOCKET

I have had my iPhone 8 Plus for a while now and I still really love it. I also like to protect it with thick, cute glitter phone cases or my new favorite — neon sand liquid! Because my phone is big and my phone case are thick/heavier, I really like to use a PopSocket to help me keep an easier grip. I don’t always keep a PopSocket on my phone, but I think they look cute and add a little extra to my phone.

NEW POPMINIS

Recently, I saw that PopSockets came out with these new PopMinis — they are a trio of small/mini PopSockets. I thought they looked cute and would be interesting to try out. There are a few color options for the PopMinis and they are $20. I bought the Misty Rainbow color option and I like how each one has an ombre of rainbow colors.

Compared to the original size PopSockets, these PopMinis are small but not micro. The PopMinis only pop out once, and the original size has two levels of popping out. Since the PopMinis are smaller, they obviously don’t pop out as far.

PACKAGING

The PopMinis came in simplistic, cute packaging with little holographic details. Included inside were the little plastic applicator discs that you need to use when you apply the PopMinis to a glass-backed phone, like the iPhone 8 or newer.

ARRANGING THE POPMINIS

Since I have the iPhone 8 Plus, I had to use those plastic discs to get the PopMinis to stick to my phone. I decided to apply them straight to my phone at first just to get a feel for them and to look cute on my plain phone.

To figure out where I wanted to put the PopMinis, I just held my phone like I normally would and then kind of slid in the PopMini where it could fit in between my fingers. Once I had figured that out, I applied the plastic discs and then pressed on the PopMinis.

It was weird having three PopSockets on my phone at first. I quickly realized that the placement I had chosen was not going to work for me. The PopMinis were all too close to each other and my fingers were getting stuck moving out and around them. So, I rearranged them again to give me more room in between.

After a couple of days, I decided that I wanted my case back on my phone for protection and I also wanted to see if the PopMinis would stick to my new neon sand liquid case. I removed the PopMinis from my phone and took off the plastic disc before I stuck them on my phone case. They stuck to my case just fine and I was really happy to have my phone protected again.

I’m not sure if it’s because adding the case made my phone heavier, but the lower middle PopMini fell off one day while I was using it. I think it was just too much pressure on such a small PopSocket — maybe also because my phone case is textured and it never really got a good grip. I’m not sure, but it made me rearrange the PopMinis so that I didn’t put so much pressure on the one middle one. I haven’t had any issues since.

PROS AND CONS

Right away, I experienced a few cons with the PopMinis:

• It’s slow and annoying to have to expand three little PopSockets individually
• The PopMinis are small — my fingers can’t really slide all the way into the PopMini, so it puts more pressure on my fingers than I’m used to with the regular PopSockets
• The placement that worked for me on my larger phone made my phone crowded and clunky
• Like I mentioned, one of my PopMinis fell off while I was holding it. I don’t think the smaller PopMinis provide the same individual support as the regular PopSocket, so you have to place them closer together to disperse the pressure more evenly

Even though there are a few negatives, I really liked a lot about the PopMinis:

• The PopMinis are super cute and little, and I like the look of them on my phone/case
• There are a lot of placement options so you can find what works best for you. Right now, I have a really good arrangement and I feel like my phone is stable in any way I hold it
• Would probably be best for a smaller phone: iPhone 5/6/XR/XS
• Would probably work best for children/people with small fingers

FINAL THOUGHTS

I went back and forth with not liking the PopMinis to liking them. I think they would be best for someone with a smaller phone than my iPhone 8 Plus size. While they look cute and gave me a lot of options to hold my phone securely, they were kind of clunky for me to use on a regular basis. However, I think I will keep two of them on my phone as a stand for watching horizontal video, but use a regular PopSocket in the middle for regular use/holding.

Hopefully this review is helpful to you and answers any questions you may have about the PopMinis.