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Review: Twelve South's Forté is a Versatile Apple-Approved Stand for the Apple Watch

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Apr 12, 2001
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Twelve South was one of the first companies to come out with an Apple Watch stand, announcing its HiRise for Apple Watch before the wrist-worn device even launched, but with watchOS 2, Apple introduced Nightstand mode, a function that required the Apple Watch to be placed in landscape mode on its side.

The HiRise isn't designed to be used in landscape mode, so as a result, Twelve South has come out with a second Apple Watch stand, the Forté. The Forté works in both portrait and landscape mode, so it's able to be used with Nightstand mode. Twelve South also worked with Apple on this design, so the Forté is one of only a handful of Apple Watch stands available in Apple retail stores.

forteapplewatchsideview-800x600.jpg

When it comes to design, the Forté doesn't look very different from the dozens of other Apple Watch stands on the market, but it does boast high quality materials and a shape that's both versatile and attractive. It consists of a leather-covered weighted chrome base and a chrome arm that holds the Apple Watch charger.

The base is larger than the base of the HiRise, but it has the benefit of being a suitable spot to rest an open-loop band on. When an Apple Watch isn't on the Forté, or when it's used with a closed-loop band, it's the perfect size to hold an iPhone. On desks with little space, it's a nice little charging platform for both an Apple Watch and an iPhone. On the bottom, there's a silicone pad for some extra grip on a desktop or night stand surface.

twelvesouthforteempty-800x600.jpg

Unfortunately, the Forté only comes in chrome with a black leather base, so it's not going to match well with all Apple Watch models, namely the Gold and Rose Gold Apple Watch Sport.

As with most Apple Watch stands, you're going to need to supply your own Apple Watch cable. There's only one stand on the market right now that has a built-in Apple Watch charging puck, and that stand comes from Belkin. We'll likely see more of those in the future, but for now, using your own cable is still a necessity.


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Article Link: Review: Twelve South's Forté is a Versatile Apple-Approved Stand for the Apple Watch
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/review/twelve-south-forte-apple-watch-stand/
I have yet to see a good implementation that supports the watch in nightstand mode and the iphone. It should not be hard for the vendors to figure out - if you have a watch, you have the phone. Therefore, somebody needs to build a version that allows you to dock both in a clean way. I bought this one http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YINKK9G?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00 , But it does not do well with nightstand mode. My SS link band will not stay horizontal on it. The other one reviewed earlier today seems workable, but it's plastic, only black and not really a dock for the phone. Someone please do this right.
 
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I have a stand bed use the Apple Store gave me one due to a mess up on their part.

Other than it being free. I can't see the point in getting a fancy stand that you'll only use when you sleep and can't even see it?

iPhone dock I can see as maybe you want to set it down while at a computer and such. i just don't see the point.
 
The clever cable design would have been, clever, had they have implemented it in reverse with the cable sealed on top on its visible side. Shame.
 
Had iPhone supported wireless charging... Maybe, judging by the last image.
 
bloggityblog44 said:
honestly, if I see one more MR article about a damn watch charging stand...
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What will happen? You'll read it, go to the comments and let us know?

Fzang said:
This watch stand fetish has got to stop.
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beanbaguk said:
You took the words out of my mouth. And MacRumors is obsessed with them....it's becoming really bloody annoying that every other article on here is for a sodding watch stand....:mad:
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How hard is it to ignore? Surely after reading the title you just scroll on past it? That's what I do with iPod related articles as I don't have (and never really had) any interest in that family of devices.

=================

Back on topic, it's good to see stands with nicer build quality. One of the reasons I prefer iOS to Android or Windows Phone - the busy accessory ecosystem.
 
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Keane16 said:
...Back on topic, it's good to see stands with nicer build quality. One of the reasons I prefer iOS to Android or Windows Phone - the busy accessory ecosystem.
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The problem that I see, and what amazes me is that with all of the choices that are out there nobody seems to be able to design anything that's functional and attractive. There are a few that look good, and a couple that work well (this one does neither, IMO). But nobody has seemed to find the sweet spot. I have two stands. One by Orzly, and another by Spigen. They look okay, are easy to use, and support the watch correctly in Nightstand Mode. But neither is beautiful.
 
Someone needs to explain to Ms Clover that often less is more. A couple of paras and a wrap-up would have been enough. Or is she paid by the word?
 
rdlink said:
The problem that I see, and what amazes me is that with all of the choices that are out there nobody seems to be able to design anything that's functional and attractive. There are a few that look good, and a couple that work well (this one does neither, IMO). But nobody has seemed to find the sweet spot. I have two stands. One by Orzly, and another by Spigen. They look okay, are easy to use, and support the watch correctly in Nightstand Mode. But neither is beautiful.
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Yeah agree, definitely room for improvement. I don't like the look this (although I imagine it would go well with some people's decor).

Looking at the picture it looks messy. I 'd only use these stands over night when I'm sleeping (most I imagine keep there watches on all day?). I personally don't like having my phone 'docked'. As when I'm in bed I'll often grab it (on its charger) and begin using it. A dock would make that awkward. I don''t really see the need of the pad right below the watch stand. Is there a use case for that? Why not just make a nice watch stand and you could just place your phone under it on its charger if you want to keep things tidy. Seems a wasteful design.

I'm looking at getting Schuttenworks' Ripple in Walnut. And leaving my phone on just its regular cable charger. But for the price you'd think they would build in a charger.
 
testcard said:
Someone needs to explain to Ms Clover that often less is more. A couple of paras and a wrap-up would have been enough. Or is she paid by the word?
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MR is hard at it selling us junk since iOS 9 blocks all their ad revenue.

Surely there would be more interesting accessories out there to write about than watch stands.

Watch stand. An entire bedroom stand for your wristwatch.

Read the words again and think about how stupid this sounds.
 
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Fzang said:
MR is hard at it selling us junk since iOS 9 blocks all their ad revenue.

Surely there would be more interesting accessories out there to write about than watch stands.

Watch stand. An entire bedroom stand for your wristwatch.

Read the words again and think about how stupid this sounds.
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€800... doesn't sound stupid at all. What does sound stupid is the judgmental tone and the whining about some of these articles.
It would be best to have a system for people to put theit interest choices in, so you could hold off all watch articles, or all accesory articles, etc.. But that's a suggestion, not a demand, because i'm not going to pay for it.
 
Aluminum213 said:
One of the worst looking designs twelve south has done
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Agreed. Generally love their products but for me personally anyway, they've missed the mark with this one. Admittedly, the possible differing band (open/closed, horiz/vert) orientations place severe design challenges on this type of accessory though. An adjustable 'flex-head' with an optional 'near vertical' position would have been a good start. Additionally 'finish' colors is another problem area.
 
I own two of those stands are really like them. But as I pointed out in my review, the biggest issue I have with Forte is that it is too easy to knock your watch off the stand when sliding out the iPhone from underneath it.
 
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