I used folio cases on my phone for 10 years. This $28 accessory changed everything

About 10 years ago, I gave up on carrying a dedicated wallet and went for a folio phone case—the kind that opens and closes like a book—with slots for my cards and wrap-around protection for my Moto G.

In the years since, I’ve reviewed so many phones and changed my personal device so many times, but continued on using phone cases that doubled as my wallet. Unfortunately, that has also meant picking through the limited folio case options available for certain phones.

But last year, I found the ESR Grip Wallet Stand and it’s been a serious game-changer for me. This versatile 3-in-1 accessory expands what my phone can do while simplifying my pockets.

Mark Knapp / Foundry

For starters, it’s a grip. It magnetically attaches to the phone—quite strongly, to my surprise—and offers a small finger loop that I can use to hold my phone comfortably for long stretches. It’s like a PopSocket, except it flattens almost completely when not in use, plus it looks far classier than the awkward knob-style design of PopSockets.

It’s also a wallet that can store several cards. On the front, it can hold two cards with a little cutout that lets me push them out with ease. On the inside, it has room for my ID and health insurance card in one pocket, plus my Costco card and a few bills in another pocket. One of these pockets has a transparent window that’s convenient for flashing ID without having to dig it out—or, in my case, flashing my Costco card. Both pockets also have cutouts to make card extraction easy. And though it isn’t hard to get the cards out, I find they stay in pretty well too.

Mark Knapp / Foundry

And lastly, it’s a kickstand. The wallet design has a strong hinge that holds the two halves together, so when the wallet is opened, it doubles as a stand. The stand can be used in both vertical and horizontal orientations, allowing me to keep my phone in portrait mode for alerts and notifications or landscape mode for watching videos.

This accessory is MagSafe-compatible, so it works right out of the box for modern iPhone owners, but it also works with Android phones that have MagSafe cases. With MagSafe ready to go, I can just slap ESR’s product onto the back of my phone—and whenever I change phones, I can transfer it over to the new device effortlessly, bringing over everything inside without having to rejigger my entire wallet setup again.

Mark Knapp / Foundry

While I do miss folio cases for my phones—they’re more protective when I accidentally drop them—I won’t be going back because the ESR Grip Wallet Stand also solves some of my gripes with folio cases.

If I just want to take my phone somewhere without all my cards and cash with it, like to the gym, I don’t have to pry it out of its case. I can simply snap off the wallet and leave the whole thing behind. The same goes for putting my phone in a car mount for GPS or holding the phone for photos. I can do it all in the blink of an eye by detaching the accessory in one fell swoop, and I can easily tuck it away in my pocket for later.

All of this convenience from a simple $28 accessory felt like a no-brainer when I first came across it, and I love that it’s so easy to transfer from phone to phone. I highly recommend it!