Discover the Newell MagSafe SnapLight and learn how to take better smartphone photos and videos with an LED light, comfortable grip and Bluetooth remote.
A smartphone camera can be more than enough for shooting Reels, capturing travel photos or creating product content. But the phone itself may not always provide everything you need. An additional light source can help in low-light conditions, a comfortable grip makes longer shooting sessions easier, and remote camera control comes in handy when you step in front of the lens yourself. The Newell MagSafe SnapLight smartphone grip combines all of these features in one compact device. Here’s how to put them to good use and when they can make shooting photos and videos with your smartphone easier.
A more comfortable way to shoot with your smartphone
How you hold your phone may not matter much when taking a single photo. The difference becomes far more noticeable when you spend longer periods shooting – while travelling, at a party or during a family gathering. The flat body of a smartphone does not offer the same secure grip as the contoured body of a camera, while most controls still require you to use the touchscreen.
The Newell MagSafe SnapLight adds a contoured grip and a physical shutter button to your smartphone. The button has a two-stage action: press it halfway to focus, then press it fully to take a photo. A zoom lever surrounding the shutter button also lets you adjust the zoom without touching the screen.
The grip also features a magnetic mounting system. If your phone or case is MagSafe-compatible, simply attach it to the grip. A self-adhesive magnetic ring is included for devices without a compatible magnetic mount.
You’ll quickly appreciate the grip while travelling, at parties or on walks – anywhere you regularly reach for your smartphone camera. Your phone still fits in your pocket, but when it’s time to start shooting, you get a more secure hold and physical controls familiar from traditional photo and video equipment.
When your shot needs more light
Poor lighting becomes particularly noticeable when shooting in the evening or in darker rooms. A face may be underexposed, while the subject you’re photographing can disappear into the shadows. Instead of relying entirely on your smartphone, you can add light to the foreground before taking a photo or starting a recording.
The Newell SnapLight grip features a 3 W continuous light. You can choose from four brightness levels and adjust the colour temperature from 2500 to 9000 K, so you’re not limited to a single shade of white light.
If you’re recording in a room dominated by warm lighting, you can set the lamp to a similar colour temperature. In daylight or under cooler lighting, you can raise the colour temperature accordingly. This adjustment is particularly useful when the SnapLight isn’t the only light source in the scene. If a face is illuminated by both a warm floor lamp and a much cooler LED light, for example, your smartphone may struggle to find a white balance that works across the entire frame. Matching the additional light more closely to the ambient lighting can help reduce these differences.
Brightness control, meanwhile, lets you adjust the output according to the distance between the light and your subject. You don’t always need full power – when shooting a close-up portrait, a subtle lift may be all that’s needed to brighten the face.
A CRI of 96+ is also important when accurate colour reproduction matters, such as when shooting makeup, manicures, clothing or product photos.
Reels and photos need different types of light
The Newell SnapLight offers two ways to illuminate your subject. The first is the 3 W continuous light described above. It is particularly useful for video because it stays on throughout the recording. Before you even press record, you can see on the screen how your subject is lit and adjust the brightness and colour temperature accordingly.
For photography, you can use the 15 W COB LED flash. It is significantly more powerful than the continuous light, with four output settings: 25, 50, 75 and 100%. This makes it particularly useful when taking photos after dark, at a party or in a dimly lit room.
How to take photos with a small flash
When using a compact light, brightness is not the only thing that matters. The distance between the light and your subject is equally important. Light intensity drops as the distance increases – and much faster than you might expect. If you move the light from 30 to 60 cm away from someone’s face, you double the distance, but the subject receives only around a quarter of the previous amount of light. This is why compact lights tend to perform best when positioned relatively close to the person or object you’re photographing.
The Y2K look: old digital cameras are back
The resurgence of compact digital cameras from the early 2000s has renewed interest in the distinctive look of direct-flash photography. A brightly lit foreground, pronounced shadows and a darker background have become hallmarks of the Y2K aesthetic, which is currently enjoying a revival.
The Newell MagSafe SnapLight smartphone grip lets you experiment with a similar technique when shooting with your phone. It works particularly well in the evening, at parties or in dimly lit interiors. Shooting from a relatively short distance allows you to brightly illuminate the person in the foreground while keeping the background noticeably darker.
Of course, this doesn’t mean your smartphone will suddenly produce images identical to those taken with a compact digital camera 20 years ago. Their distinctive character was also shaped by their optics, CCD sensors and image processing. Direct flash can, however, recreate one of the most recognisable elements of that aesthetic. Filters can take care of the rest.
Control the camera without walking back to your phone
When you’re shooting on your own and appearing in front of the camera at the same time, controlling your phone from a distance can quickly become inconvenient. If your smartphone is positioned several metres away, starting a recording, taking a photo or adjusting the zoom would normally mean walking back to the device each time.
That’s exactly what the detachable Bluetooth remote built into the Newell SnapLight is designed to solve. With a range of up to 10 m, the compact controller lets you take photos, start recording and adjust the zoom. It works with both iOS and Android devices.
You can set up your phone, prepare the lighting and check the framing, then take the remote with you and step in front of the camera. There’s no need to return to your smartphone before every new take. The detachable controller is useful for recording Reels, tutorials, product presentations, beauty content, fashion content or workouts. It also makes self-portraits and group photos easier, especially when you want to capture several shots without repeatedly resetting the self-timer.
Sometimes a stand is all you need
You don’t always need a tripod when recording at a desk. The Newell SnapLight can also serve as a stand, allowing you to position your smartphone horizontally on a flat surface. This is useful for video calls, live streams or recording content at a table.
If you need the phone to sit higher, farther away or in a precisely chosen position, you can use the standard 1/4” thread to mount the grip on a tripod. This setup works well for full-body recordings, group photos, product presentations or workout videos.
Combined with the Bluetooth remote, this means you don’t have to stay next to the phone. Once you’ve framed the shot, you can move away from the smartphone and remotely take a photo or start recording. The range of up to 10 m gives you plenty of room for full-body shots or larger groups.
Five scenarios, five different setups
The SnapLight’s features can be combined in different ways depending on what you want to create. Shooting a Reel calls for a different setup than taking photos at night or while travelling.
- Reels and vlogs: mount your phone on a tripod, switch on the continuous light and take the remote with you. You can frame the shot yourself, step in front of the camera and start recording from a distance.
- Beauty and makeup: use the continuous light and adjust its colour temperature to suit your shooting conditions. A CRI of 96+ helps reproduce skin tones and cosmetic colours accurately.
- Parties and nights out: use the grip when shooting handheld and switch on the flash when the available light is insufficient. Adjustable flash output lets you adapt the light to the scene.
- Travel: the grip provides a more comfortable hold, while the physical shutter button and zoom lever let you control essential camera functions without constantly reaching for the touchscreen.
- Product photography: mount your phone on a tripod, switch on the continuous light and trigger the shutter with the remote. Once you’ve framed the shot, you can take subsequent photos without touching the smartphone and risking camera shake.
6-in-1: everything you need in one device
The grip, continuous light, flash, Bluetooth remote, stand and tripod mount are all integrated into a single device. The Newell MagSafe SnapLight measures 123 x 87 x 32 mm and weighs 120 g, so even when attached to your phone, it won’t take up much room in your bag or backpack.
The built-in battery has a capacity of 1200 mAh. At minimum brightness, the continuous light can run for up to four hours, or up to two hours at maximum brightness. In flash mode, a single charge provides up to 3,000 flashes at the lowest power setting. Recharging via USB-C takes approximately two hours.
The Newell MagSafe SnapLight smartphone grip is designed for people who regularly use their phones for photography and video. You can take it on a trip, use it when recording Reels and vlogs, place it on a desk during a live stream or mount it on a tripod when you need greater flexibility in positioning your phone.
If you want a more comfortable way to shoot, an additional light source within easy reach and a simpler way to record without someone behind the camera, check out the Newell MagSafe SnapLight and explore everything it has to offer. And once you start using it, be sure to tag Newell in your photos, Reels and other content – we’d love to see what you create.
