The Good: Native Union’s Docks combine beautiful and minimal design, solid build quality and versatile functionality.
The Bad: The docks could be a touch heavier, and the pricing may be considered steep for what’s effectively just a dock.
The Bottom Line: A recommended buy if you’re looking to add a touch of style to your setup and want to hide messy cables.
From the elegant Clic Wooden case to the fabric-covered Belt cable, Native Union have a knack for making great looking products for Apple devices.
Their docking duo — the Dock Lightning for iPhone and Dock for Apple Watch — are two of my personal favourites that now have permanent homes on my bedside table. If you’re into your cable management game and want to give your devices a nice place to go and recharge, these docks are worth a look at.
Top notch design & build quality
Available in Slate/Space Grey, Midnight Blue/Gold and Stone/Rose Gold colour combinations — designed to match the colour of your devices — these docks definitely give off an impression of good design and build quality.
Both share a minimalist look including a soft silicone block at the base, which surprisingly feels really nice to the touch and helps give it a grippy texture. That, paired with the aluminium core, gives these Native Union docks enough heft to avoid sliding around too much — a feature I value a lot in docks.
While there’s an aluminium back-plate on the iPhone Dock to support your device, you’ll find a cylindrical aluminium core (or arm) for the Apple Watch Dock, which is where you’ll attach your Watch for charging.
Versatile functionality
Native Union have built the iPhone dock with case and non-case users in mind, so you’ve got a range of inserts to choose from depending on whether you use your iPhone naked or not.
Also, because of its open design, you can place any sort of Lightning powered device on this thing; iPads, iPhones and even Apple’s new trackpad.
I particularly like the Watch Dock’s versatility. Not only can it be used flat so that you can make the most of the Apple Watch’s Nightstand mode (shown in the image above), but you can turn the dock on its side and simply rotate the cylindrical arm at whatever angle you’d prefer.
Native Union Docks for iPhone & Apple Watch: Final thoughts
If you’re on the hunt for a stylish, very well built docking duo and don’t mind paying for it, I can strongly recommend these two by Native Union. Yes, the price may be on the premium side at £72 for the bundle (or £39.99 for the iPhone dock and £49.99 for the Watch Dock separately), but Native Union’s craftsmanship and minimalistic design is sure to add a touch of style to your space.
Image credits: Native Union
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