All posts

The Best Looking iPad Stand!

5:36 video

This is the Elago Magnetic Stand for iPad, a simple name for a simple product, and honestly the best-looking iPad stand I’ve seen. This video isn’t sponsored by Elago; I just saw it online, thought it looked cool, and I was right.

What’s in the box

One of the simplest unboxings ever: the stand and a magnetic ring you can attach to the back of your iPad. There are two ways to connect the iPad:

  1. The magnetic folio case. It attaches to the back of the iPad with extra magnets for the flip-over front cover, which can act as a stand itself like other folios, and magnets in the front that wake the display. (A lot of magnets here.) It’s available for the latest iPad mini, iPad Airs and iPad Pros.
  2. The magnetic ring, stuck directly to the iPad, so you don’t need the folio. You can also attach it to another case, as long as it’s not too heavy or too thick, or even to an Android tablet or a Microsoft Surface.

The design

However you connect it, it’s the best-looking iPad stand I’ve seen. It follows Apple’s recent desktop design language, the iMac and Studio Display, and most closely resembles the M1 iMac: the slightly angled design, the heel on the back of the bottom plate, even the side of the hinge. It sits well next to a Studio Display. It’s all aluminum, with a cutout in the back for a cable, and honestly feels right at home next to Apple’s desktop devices. Colors: silver (like mine, and honestly the best), dark gray, blue and sand pink.

How it works

The magnets on the stand and the folio are extremely well done: just the right pull to attach, and easy to remove when you want. The hinge is incredibly easy to adjust yet very stable: wherever you angle it, it stays, and you can move it with one or two hands. You can also rotate the iPad a full 360°.

I’ve used it for a couple of days and it’s fantastic for all kinds of scenarios: work calls, FaceTime or Zoom, watching a movie while prepping dinner, or, with an external keyboard and mouse, actually getting work done. Next to a Studio Display, you can use Sidecar to use the iPad as another display for your Mac at a proper height and angle, or leave it in iPad mode and use Universal Control, with the Mac’s mouse and keyboard going back and forth between iPadOS and macOS.

Downsides

  • No height adjustment. It would be nice to move it up or down a bit, but that would take away from the simplicity of this purpose-built product, and I’m certain it wouldn’t look as nice as the Studio Display’s height-adjustable hinge.
  • The magnetic folio case: as soon as you put it on the magnet and spin it around, you get circles permanently embedded in the case that won’t come out with a microfiber cloth or anything else. That’s just going to be the look of the case.

Price

You can get it from Elago or Amazon (a bit cheaper on Amazon for some colors). The stand is around $100, and the magnetic case $27–35, depending on the color and where you buy. It’s a fantastic stand, I’m going to keep using it, and I can definitely recommend it.

Some links in this post are affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I may receive a small commission. See my ethics statement.

Watch on YouTube

Keep reading

Related posts