ESR Geo Wallet review: The only Find My-enabled MagSafe wallet holds its own

After being teased at CES 2023, ESR has finally debuted its new MagSafe wallet that is the world's first to include support for Find My. We got to test it out early ahead of shipping.

The Geo Wallet works via MagSafe, where it can connect to the rear of any iPhone 12 or newer. It has a reported 1,500 g of pull strength which is twice that of Apple's.

It holds onto the phone very well, even when you attempt to slide it. We can easily dangle the phone from the Geo Wallet and it feels secure.

This is extra beneficial as the wallet has a built-in finger ring, providing added security while out and about.

The back of the case pops out so your finger can slip in and provide extra grip while holding your phone. Think ESR's version of PopSockets but without the cute characters and images.

There are slight metal accents on the back, used to secure the loop on the wallet. They're milled with chamfered edges and a circular pattern in the middle that radiates toward the edges.

When the loop moves up, it locks into place thanks to a plastic ring that snaps onto the lower metal pin. It can be snug, and sometimes we need to move it out of the way anyway to get access to the cards it holds within.

This wallet holds three cards, which is our ideal amount. It's still very slim, but we can carry a credit card, debit card, and an ID.

Our pre-production unit has a slight issue -- it's too tight. So accessing the cards is challenging when we three are stored, and they don't want to come out.

ESR tells us that the sample batch was too tight, which has been corrected for the final production run. It reportedly won't suffer from the same problem if you order one.

The Geo Wallet can also act as a stand for your iPhone. A hinge at the top pivots out, supporting your iPhone vertically.

While vertical, this is great for keeping an eye on notifications or taking a FaceTime call.

If you rotate the phone 90 degrees, it can also hold horizontally. While horizontal, it's great for watching videos.

We took this wallet with us on a flight which was the perfect airborne companion for catching up on Ted Lasso ahead of season 3.

A better MagSafe wallet

There are going to be a lot of people claiming that ESR created a better MagSafe wallet than Apple. While the material isn't entirely up to Apple's, it is hard to argue with the functionality.

Apple's second-generation MagSafe wallet pairs with your phone via NFC when it connects for the first time. Whenever it disconnects, it will pin the location on the map and alert you that the wallet was left behind.

This is helpful to make sure you didn't leave it on the table at your local coffee shop but does not else to help find your wallet. There's no speaker, no Bluetooth connection, and no way to find the wallet other than seeing where it got disconnected.

Apple's wallet is simplistic. Unfortunately, it can only hold two cards at a time, which we've found to be one shy from ideal.

What we love about Apple's is the leather. The leather feels very nice and has a premium feel versus the slightly-plastic feel of the faux leather Geo Wallet.

Other than the material, ESR has improved Apple's wallet in nearly every way.

Officially licensed Find My

The flagship feature of the Geo Wallet is Find My support. All the Find My benefits -- including real-time location tracking over Bluetooth -- not just a generic detachment alert.

Within the back panel of the wallet -- the portion with the MagSafe magnets -- ESR has hidden all the necessary tech to make this function.

The phone-facing side has two additional magnets and a trio of contact points that hold and connect to the bundled pogo pin charger. The charger has a proprietary connector on one side and a USB-C connector on the other.

We felt the magnetic hold of the charger was a little weak but sufficient to get the charging done. Once charged -- which takes an hour and a half from an empty battery -- the wallet will last three months.

Find My brings a ton of helpful features. For example, you'll get an alert if you leave your phone behind, you can ring the wallet from the phone to help find it when you're within range, and you can mark it lost to leverage the larger Find My community.

If it is marked as lost, any time an Apple user comes nearby with an iPhone, iPad, or Mac, you'll be anonymously alerted to its whereabouts.

The only Find My feature omitted isn't necessarily by choice. Apple still limits the Ultra Wideband Precision Finding to its own AirTags-- fortunately, the audio aids once you get in range of the wallet.

Not just another Apple clone

More than two years after MagSafe launched, we still see the market flooded with mere knockoffs of Apple's MagSafe wallet.

Accessory makers have taken Apple's wallet and "innovated" by adding a stronger magnet, a grippy back texture, or other material choices. Otherwise, there have been very few unique takes on the category.

ESR is set to deliver the new must-have MagSafe accessory by adding functionality, capacity, and Find My to the wallet.

Thus far, they're the only ones to pull this off. And with a $39 price tag, this is an easy product to recommend.

Pros

• Licensed Find My module
• Rechargeable
• Finger loop grip
• Vertical or horizontal stand
• Built-in speaker
• Very strong MagSafe hold
• Holds three cards

Cons

• Adds decent weight to your phone
• Proprietary charger
• Pre-production model was too tight

Rating: 4 out of 5

Rating will increase to 4.5 out of 5, assuming the production models will not be too tight for the credit cards.

Where to buy

You can preorder the ESR Geo Wallet on Kickstarter starting at $24 for the earliest backers before the full $39.99 MSRP when it hits the market later this year.

As a reminder, backing the Geo Wallet on Kickstarter is not the same as preordering a product and does not guarantee product delivery. That said, ESR has a history of successfully following through on campaigns, and we've tested the product for ourselves before featuring the campaign.