Here's The Best Docks For Your Apple Watch
So you got your new Apple Watch and one of the first accessories you’re probably looking to buy is a nice charging dock or stand. There are plenty of options available, ranging from cheap Apple Watch docks all the way to sleek and fancy ones. We went out and got our hands on 8 different docks and compared them side by side and see which one is the best bang for your buck.
AERB Wood Apple Watch Dock
This one was $12.99 on Amazon with free prime shipping. While it looks like something your 6th grade kid could have made you in wood shop, for the price it’s not that bad. The wood looks good and it has built in cable management. The downside is that it’s really light and could easily get knocked over.
JETech Apple Watch Stand
If you like that simple design at a great price, the JETECH stand is definitely worth the price. For only $12 bucks on Amazon w/ prime, this stand has a nice sleek finish. It’s made of plastic so it w on’t scratch your Apple Watch. It has a weight on the inside bottom piece, so there’s less of a chance to tip over. It’s also available in other colors like white or green.
AERB Aluminum Dock
The AERB aluminum dock is only $10 bucks on Amazon with free prime shipping, and it’s definitely the shortest dock — which means it can fit nicely under your iMac. The downside is that it’s very light weight and barely has any cable management.
TwelveSouth HiRise
The TwelveSouth HiRise is priced at [$49.99 on Amazon][9], available in both black and aluminum. While this dock is slightly more expensive than others, this is our favorite dock we reviewed. It has a simple design, with excellent cable management. It was a breeze to setup, and we love the way it’s easily portable. It’s made of solid material that won’t scratch your watch and the bottom piece has nice heavy feel to it, so there’s no chance this dock will ever tip over when you go to dock your [Apple Watch][10]. We couldn’t find any downside to this dock besides that it’s $50 bucks, but we felt that it was worth the price tag.
Spigen Watch Stand
Next up we have the Spigen Apple Watch stand. For only $20 on Amazon with free prime shipping, this one is a great deal. It’s simple and sleek and has a good design with the aluminum finish. The top of the stand has a rubber finish so there’s no chance you will scratch your Watch. The only downside is that there is not much cable management with this stand.
Mophie Apple Watch Dock
The Mophie Charging Dock is available for $59.99 on Amazon. It has a pretty a sleek design, once setup. But the setup is a bit more tedious than we hoped, with many different steps, but once it's done it does look great. We think the aluminum makes a perfect dock for the Grey Sport Apple watch. We didn't like that there’s a lot of rubber for the cable management that is basically glued to the frame. For the price, we think there are better docks. But if you can find it on sale eventually, it would be a good buy.
Spigen Watch Stand (Left) vs Mophie (Right)
Griffin Watch Stand
For only $29 on Amazon, the Griffin dock can double as a nightstand for your Apple watch and iPhone. It’s well priced and offers a unique cable management system. You wrap your cord on the inside and can free up as much cord length as you need, which helps tuck away messy cords. The only downside is the setup takes a little bit of time.
It’s also important to note that Apple recently announced Watch OS 2 coming in the fall, which will have many new software features such as the ability to have Nightstand mode. This will allow the watch to display the time when it’s sideways on the stand, giving many of these docks such as the Griffin Watchstand way more function and capability as a night stand.
Nomad Charging Stand
Finally we have the Nomad Charging Stand in Space Grey. This one is the most expensive for $69 at Nomad.com (10% off with coupon code 'FRND10') and has the sleekest and most futuristic design out of all of them. The cable management is very sleek along the backside of the dock and very easy to setup. The dock is made of solid aluminum and has a nice heavy feel. The only downside of this dock is the side has sharp edges, which means there could be a chance to scratch your watch while putting it on the dock. This could be a big issue especially for those of you with the steel case Apple Watch.
