Let’s talk about iPhone stands. Need one? Want one? Don’t know what that is? Here we go.
Stands for your iPhone come in more flavors than you can imagine. They also come in more qualities than you can imagine, with many rated as complete junk, and a few standouts that rate as great.
Today we’re going to focus specifically on MagSafe stands for your iPhone. Not familiar with MagSafe? It’s essentially a built in way to magnetically attach accessories to your phone, or in this case, to attach your iPhone to an accessory.
To utilize a MagSafe stand effectively, you’re going to need an iPhone 12, 13, or 14. Regular, Pro, and Max all work the same way. Before you ask, yes, there are also add on magnets and cases that will bring MagSafe functionality to an older iPhone, but that’s another story for another day.
Back to Nomad’s stand. What do we like about it? First, the weight. This stand is heavy. Normally that isn’t something we would call out as a plus, but in this case it is. A MagSafe phone stand should be sturdy and this one is. More importantly, remember that your phone is connected to this stand with magnets. When you lift your phone from the stand, the stand shouldn’t come with it. In our experience so far, as long as you give your phone a slight tilt up when lifting it, the stand stays in place. Definitely a plus.
The other thing we like about this stand is that is uses your existing MagSafe charger. For some, this might be a minus since you need to bring your own MagSafe charger, but for us this is a plus. Bringing your own MagSafe charger means that you’re getting the full functionality and charging speed of Apple’s MagSafe charger. The iPhone can charge with any Qi compatible charger, but in a lot of cases at a much slower speed than Apple’s own. Bringing your charger means full speed charging with a quality charger.
Another thing we like about this stand is the material. It’s made from a block of zinc alloy and the stand feels quality. Drop it, knock it off the table, use it as a hammer. You may scuff and scratch it, but you’re going to have a hard time breaking it.
Speaking of the material, another plus is heat dissipation. I’ve used a MagSafe charger flat on a table, and it can certainly get warm. In this stand, the sides and most of the back of the charger are in direct contact with the metal stand which dissipates the heat generated wonderfully. The back of the stand is open as well, which allows air to flow behind the charger. Devices charging in this stand feel noticeably cooler than they do when they charge on the MagSafe charger alone.
Are there minuses? Yes, but they’re minimal. One being that you really need to use a case with this stand. Since the charger sits almost flush in the stand, the metal can certainly scratch a bare iPhone if you move it the wrong way. If you insist on having a bare iPhone, be really careful with this stand, or consider a different one.
Another is the lack of tilt. Because this stand is made from a single piece of zinc alloy, it’s not adjustable. Is the default angle good enough for most applications? Yea, but it would be nice to be able to adjust it.
One last minus. The weight. Wait what? Hear me out, but I actually think it would be great if this stand were heavier. Yes, heavier. Since it doesn’t fold and is already heavy, I wouldn’t call this a travel stand. If you’re looking for something to travel with, there are better options. That being said, a little more weight would help keep this stand planted if you tried to lift your phone straight up. Tilting the phone slightly back keeps the stand where it is, but you can certainly lift the phone and the stand together if you want to. Almost a non issue though.
Overall, this stand really is great. There’s not too much more I would ask for from a phone stand. If Nomad ever comes out with a model that you can adjust the tilt angle on, I’ll buy that one too.
Currently available from Nomad Goods here.
Overall Score: 9 out of 10
Broke Score: Almost indestructible
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