Vertical desk stands for the iPhone have risen in popularity since the introduction of Face ID, allowing the owner to unlock the phone without taking it off the stand — the Face ID camera is pointed at just the right angle.
The HiRise Wireless approaches the classic formula with great materials and a sleek design, plus a small twist: the Qi charging pad is not fixed in place. It can be popped out and taken with you. It’s a small thing — but it really ramps up the product’s flexibility and functionality compared to the status quo.
The iPhone stand itself is well made. The base is made of chrome and topped with soft leather, so it matches my iPhone X in an Apple leather case really well. The underside is rubber-padded so it doesn’t slip across the desk, even if you place your phone down with slightly less grace than normal.
An iPhone stand with portable Qi charger inside
I do have a slight complaint with the rest. The phone stays upright by leaning back on the stand, but there’s also a little bump in the leather base to act as a ridge. The issue is the space between the two pieces is quite small. My personal iPhone X fits snugly with the Apple case on, and the XS and XS Max are fine too, but my brother’s iPhone XR in his plastic shell case was too bulbous. It would lean on the stand, but it didn’t feel secure enough for me to trust it on a daily basis.
The 75-degree angle of the stand is perfect for Face ID unlock when I’m sitting at my desk. The phone is stable enough that you can happily tap and swipe around iOS without worrying about it toppling over. If you get a message, you can reply from the Lock screen in a snap — using your face to naturally authenticate without needing to pick up the phone (the swipe system keyboard in iOS 13 comes in useful here).
TwelveSouth calls the removable Qi pad the ‘Power Disc’; it’s an oval shape about the same height and two times the width of an AirPods case. The whole appeal for me is that I can have a desk charging stand and then quickly take the charger with me if I’m travelling. Thankfully, it pops in and out of the loop of the stand relatively easily.
The Qi puck connects to power through a USB-C port on the bottom. TwelveSouth conveniently includes a USB-C to USB-A cable in the box for you to use. To be picky, it is a little awkward when you are attaching and detaching the cable. The Power Disc is placed into position from the front of the iPhone stand unit, but the wire is at the rear. It’s a little finicky the first time you do it, but I got used to it quickly.
Another thing to be aware of is that, in essence, the wire is free-standing. It trails straight out of the Qi puck without cover, so if you look at it from an angle it’s not quite as sleek as a typical charging stand which would be all-in-one integrated with the power cable connection in the base.
The Power Disc is rated for 10W wireless charging. This will max out the wireless charging capacity of any currently-sold iPhone (which support 7.5W maximum charging speeds) and also charge phones from other manufacturers, like newer Samsung devices, at full speed.
For travel, or if you just want to charge your AirPods in a pinch, the Power Disc lays flat on a table and you can just place your iPhone or second-gen AirPods case on it to charge. The Disc is encased in a silicone ring to improve friction and prevent a phone from sliding off the pad whilst it charges. One nice detail is that the Power Disc features no lights at all, enabling a distraction-free charging experience, which is honestly quite rare for a Qi charging puck.
You can buy the TwelveSouth HiRise Wireless for $79 from Amazon now. It’s by no means the cheapest iPhone charging stand out there, but the combo of portable Qi charger and sleek, elegant, stand makes it feel like a worthwhile purchase. Find out more on the TwelveSouth website.
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