Review: Trio is a gorgeous modular stand for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch
Company: Antsy Labs
Product: Trio
Price: $49-104 (depending on configuration)
Compatibility: iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch
Website: http://www.antsylabs.com/
Date: Jan. 14, 2016
The product
Trio, a universal iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch dock, offers owners of Apple’s iOS (and watchOS) devices a beautiful, functional means of docking their smartphone, tablet, or smart watch. You can order the Trio stand now through Kickstarter (provided the project reaches its $25,000 funding goal), and prices start from as little as $49.
Trio with an iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch.
I’ve been using Trio for a few weeks, and I have to say: so far, I love it. From a design perspective, the product is stunning: the space gray material of the stand is beautiful, and the additional color options (silver, rose gold, or matte black) look great, too, based on the images I’ve seen online. Trio works, as you might expect, by allowing users to connect three separate, or “solo,” stands together in a modular fashion in order to make a “trio.” You can purchase or order these stands from $49 apiece, and individually, they look nice enough. But the real magic comes when users connect their solo iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch stands together.
Trio with an iPad Pro and Apple Watch.
Using magnets, individual stands snap onto others when they’re in close range, allowing you to dock your iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch side by side on a nightstand or desk. The overall effect is really impressive and creates a large docking station that can accommodate all of your devices.
Trio with an Apple Watch.
There are grooves along each stand for charging cables to sit, and a screwdriver kit allows owners of the Trio solo stands to integrate their Lightning cables inside of the stand itself, in a discrete fashion. In this way, users can easily dock their smartphone or tablet onto a Trio stand in order to begin the charge or sync process. It’s all incredibly simple, but nevertheless really effective.
Trio from above.
For Apple Watch owners, the Trio solo stand allows users to simply rest their smart watch over the inductive charger in order to secure the watch. While this doesn’t allow Apple Watch owners to take advantage of the nightstand mode added in watchOS 2, this is a small price to pay for an Apple Watch stand which looks as good as Trio. There are even suction pads fixed onto the bottom of each individual stand in order to secure it to any given surface. Better still, Trio is compatible with your iOS device even if it’s housed inside of a protective case.
Trio’s tablet stand with an integrated Lightning charger.
All in all, I really am impressed with Trio: I’ve been searching for a set of stands like this for a long, long time, and I’m pleased to have finally found a solution that looks great and works well. There are six days to go on the product’s Kickstarter project, and I’d encourage anyone on the hunt for a decent iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch stand to take a closer look before the time runs out.
What’s Hot
- Beautiful design.
- Conceals the Lighting cable well.
- Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch.
- Modular: you can add more solo stands as you go.
- Works with iOS device cases.
- Suction pads secure the stands to your surface.
What’s Not
- Prevents nightstand mode from working on the Apple Watch.
- The iPad Pro is a little big to fit properly when the tablet stand is alongside the phone stand.
Scores
Aesthetic Appeal: ★★★★★
Wow Factor: ★★★★☆
Build Quality: ★★★★★
Value: ★★★★☆
Buy Now: Prices start from $49 on Kickstarter.
