- Remember that commercial Apple released a couple of years ago with the young girl
living her epic life with an iPad? At the end, while typing away on her smart keyboard,
her neighbor asks what she's doing on her computer, to which she responds,
"What's a computer?" Urgh! (relaxed upbeat music)
Oh, that's still hurts today. Man, how we hated that line.
It's interesting now because since then, Apple's been working very hard
to make the iPad more computer-like, with things like a USB-C port
and trackpad and mouse support. It leads us to this, the Kensington StudioDock.
It's the first accessory of its kind, and it asks the question,
"What if iPad was a desktop?" So, does it earn its $379 price tag?
And if it does, can the iPad even keep up? (upbeat music)
The Kensington StudioDock is one of the most comprehensive iPad docks out there.
It's designed for the ultimate Apple user. Compatible with the latest gen flat-edged USB type C iPads,
sporting two wireless charging pads, perfect for your iPhone and AirPods,
and supporting the Apple Watch, with this optional charging adapter too.
(soft upbeat music)
It plants your iPad firmly on the desk through a built-in hub that sports gigabit Ethernet,
four USB-3 ports, SD card reader,
headset jack, and an HDMI 2.0 output.
Design-wise it's all nicely integrated. I do love the fabric mat on the wireless chargers,
and how the iPad sits on the dock with minimal intrusion,
unlike other stands with their massive grabby grips on either side.
It rotates 90 degrees. This feels great.
And it tilts beyond 90. This feels okay.
There's no swivel or height adjust, but I didn't really miss that.
(relaxed upbeat music) But that doesn't mean I don't have gripes.
Firstly, it's nowhere near Apple standards of build quality.
The back is black plastic that creaks if you grab it,
and the placement of this power button is going to kill me.
Why isn't it in the center? The other sticking point is that
it's not that easy to place the iPad in here. It's supposed to slide into this USB-C plug
and stay secure with magnets, but there's also this grippy rubber pad and guardrails
which are great at holding things together once docked, but all these components are fighting each other
on the way in, to the extent that the experience
is just finicky rather than easy. You have to slide it in at a slight angle like this
and then just kind of mush it in. It's just not satisfying.
But, once it's in,
your iPad really well and truly does become a computer,
rotating between portrait for focused writing sessions
and landscape for multitasking. And if you do hook it up into an external monitor
with a mouse and keyboard, it really starts to feel like a desktop.
Well, almost. Here's the problem.
iPad OS really isn't a desktop operating system. External display support from the HDMI output
is only a mirror of the iPad interface, unless you're viewing photos or video.
Oh, and 4K resolution only works with the pros. This iPad Air maxes out at 1080p.
Regardless of resolution, you're going to get pillar boxing. And though the iPad on paper
is a four by three aspect ratio, don't expect it to fill those old monitors completely.
Now, how about going in the other direction and bringing your Mac screen to the iPad with Sidecar?
You can do that, but only wirelessly, so it's not the most responsive experience.
And unfortunately this USB-C port won't pass through.
That being said, I used the iPad and this dock for a whole week and it is remarkably capable.
I could easily write scripts, edit photos with Lightroom,
and when I was web browsing, I'd even forget I was on an iPad.
But the problem is that there are some times where it's very clearly not capable enough,
like when it needed to add a hyperlink to an email or multitask while on a video call
without having my camera turn off.
So then who is the StudioDock for?
This was the cause of much discussion in the office as we puzzled over this. (soft upbeat music)
The product bumpf shows a photographer person doing something with photos, but that's not enough.
So, here's the list I came up with.
Is it for realtors? Asked mine, said no.
Salesperson? Asked one I know, also said no.
Artists? Don't ask.
Point of sale? Spoiled children?
Writer? People with tiny desks?
(upbeat harp music) Yeah, people with tiny desks.
Especially considering how much new apartments have been shrinking these days.
So should you buy the Kensington StudioDock? At $379 for the small and 399 for the large model,
it's certainly a steep price. But the iPad has come a long way
since the days of half-baked accessibility mouse support and a lack of file server connectivity.
And if you buy all the elements of the StudioDock separately:
the hub, the wireless chargers, the stand, you'd be saving at least $115.
So that certainly would be a less expensive route, but it won't be as clean on your tiny baby hands desk.
(relaxed upbeat music)
If you like what the StudioDock offers, it's really the only game in town.
Those who are really committed to what the iPad has to offer and use it for everything
will find this quite perfect. But while I personally may feel the iPad is best
as a comfortable computer for the bed, living room and bathroom,
I can't help it feel that what Kensington is saying with the StudioDock is,
"Your move, Apple. You know what a computer is." It lays bare the iPad's capabilities and limitations.
Clearly Kensington thinks the iPad is ready to sit, elevated at the desk, ready for business or whatever.
Thank you for popping into this "Mac Address". I'm really curious who you think this iPad dock is for,
so please explain in the comments. There's something about the iPad conceptually
that gets people passionate for or against it. This StudioDock, eh, won't help that discussion.
(relaxed upbeat music)