We really admire any accessory manufacturer that tries to solve a problem, and the developers who figure out great ways to solve more than one problem at the same time should really be appreciated by everyone. Unlike other Apple Watch stands, the Griffin WatchStand does more than just provide a dock for your watch and includes a nice stand for your iPhone as well. As of now, it is pretty impossible to find a cheap blend of an iPhone and Apple Watch stand. However, Griffin offers exactly this: a great combination of an iPhone and Watch stand at a very reasonable price of $30.
That being said, because of the very low price the company had to make some compromises in terms of functionality and materials used. The Griffin WatchStand is primarily made out of plastic and has a rubber core. The materials used on the stand won’t scratch your Apple Watch but will definitely seem pretty cheap if you use the stand with a more expensive Apple Watch. Here is our Griffin WatchStand review.
The Griffin WatchStand comes as a set of five different plastic parts: a glossy base that looks surprisingly similar to an Apple TV that has been flattened and has a hole in the center, a glossy pipe, a rubber core for said pipe used for the cable and a circular rubber insert. You will, however, have to supply your own Apple Watch Magnetic Charging Cable, as the Griffin WatchStand doesn’t come with one. But to be fair, none of the Apple Watch stands available at the time come with a cable included. The Griffin WatchStand can accommodate 1 or 2 meter cables and the Magnetic Charging pucks.
Installing the dock is pretty easy. All you have to do is stick the USB plug of your Magnetic Charging Cable through the center of the core, use the grooves on the rubber core to wind your cable, leave just enough cable to connect your plug to a wall charger and stick the rubber core into the pipe in order to hide your cable. The plastic cap will snap into place in the pipe and attach to the base, without locking together permanently. If you are using the plastic charging puck from the Apple Watch Sport, you won’t have to use the circular insert provided by Griffin. However, the metal pucks will need to use the insert in order to stick out from the Griffin WatchStand just enough so they make a magnetic connection with your Watch.
We didn’t face many challenges when installing the Griffin WatchStand and those that surfaced were only minor, such as getting the cable to stick in the grooves and not get tangled up when attempting to install the pipe, bringing the cap as close to the pipe as possible and figuring out the right cable length to leave for the charger to connect. That being said, these problems aren’t all that annoying as they can be quickly resolved and will only have to be dealt with just once. Even though the glossy pipe won’t detach from its base when you normally use it, it can easily get separated in order to adjust the puck or the cable during installation.
The big question, however, is whether the functionality and design of the Griffin WatchStand will fit your sensibilities and needs or not. Any Watch with a closed loop band will have to be charged on its side, and this seems a little bit peculiar. Apple Watches with open bands will dangle behind and on front of its top surface, which is a more natural position in our opinion. But to be fair, the stand does offer better versatility and cable management than others. The four rubber feet on the Griffin WatchStand have gaps between them that will allow you to use your USB cable in any direction you want. This can come very handy when working with shorter cables.
The footprint and the height of the Griffin WatchStand may be unappealing to some. Some people believe that the Mophie Watch Dock elevates the Watch way too much. The dock from Mophie only raises the Watch 3.5 inches and in comparison, the Griffin WatchStand lifts the watch 6 inches from the ground, so this may be a big problem for some people. The height of the WatchStand is the result of wanting to offer enough room for the iPhone to comfortably stand on its side below the Apple Watch. I didn’t really want to place my iPhone this way but there is a lip on the edge of the Griffin WatchStand that prevents the phone from slipping. In my opinion, a more integrated and side by side Apple Watch/iPhone dock would have been a lot better but you can’t really complain, seeing how this dock only costs $30.
The strongest point of the Griffin WatchStand is its very affordable price, which is incredibly fair at just $30. It is a lot less expensive than other Apple Watch/iPhone docks and it will be a great fit for people on a budget because of its plastic frame. The design is nothing to get too excited about but the Griffin WatchStand does get some extra points for providing an excellent single solution to multiple problems.
Key Features
The 4.2” square by 7” tall Griffin WatchStand holds any iPhone on its side and an Apple Watch 6” up in the air. Even though you have to provide your own cables, this isn’t such a big deal as they come bundled with your Apple Watch and we haven’t seen any other dock that comes with its own cords. It can be a little tricky to assemble the first time, but other than this small inconvenience the plastic and rubber dock is extremely affordable when it comes to dock standards.
So there you have it. This was our Griffin WatchStand review. If you’re looking for a great Apple Watch/iPhone dock, this may be just the thing for you, especially because of how affordable it is.
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