Home iPhonia Apple Watch ,,,,, In the first months of Apple Watch availability, there was a real invasion of accessories, mostly Chinese production stands. Some well done, others downright poor. For everyone, the impression surrounding their launch was that this type of product was hastily engineered to meet a sales opportunity, without caring too much about functionality and quality.
Ugreen, also a Chinese company specializing in cables and adapters, entered this business later by offering a product that at first sight has a different purpose: to serve the Apple Watch user with a “synthesis” product that eliminates on the one hand the need to buy a second Apple Watch charging cable (which very few third-party stands do), on the other hand takes into account that those who have Apple Watch also have an iPhone and are practically always in need of recharging the second device as well.
How it's done
To do all this Ugreen had to have its stand certified by Apple. In fact, no one can build a support with integrated charger for Apple Watch without having the official certification, and it is precisely this aspect that primarily distinguishes the Ugreen support from all the rest, even from accessories of major brands.
A second distinctive element is found in the base where there are two USB ports designed for charging devices such as tablets or mobile phones. One of the ports is high-speed charging (up to 2.4 Ah suitable for an iPad or an iPhone 7 Plus), the second 1 Ah, typical performance of a smartphone charger. The two ports combined provide a maximum speed of 2.4 Ah. This means that if you draw 1 Ah from the low-performance port, you have 1.4 Ah from the second port. This too is something original; there are docks, such as Belkin's Valet, that recharge an iPhone but here the dock has USB ports, therefore universal and useful for recharging other products other than Apple, such as Bluetooth headphones or batteries.
The Dock is quite massive 
The USB and power ports 
The charging plate 
The wall power supply 
Here it is connected 
The stand has some difficulty with closed and heavy bracelets 
But charging without problems 
Also works as a Night Stand 
Used with an iPad it does not allow charging of Apple Watch
To improve the charging capacity of its support, Ugreen has provided a power connector and in the box it also includes a power supply. A good idea, on the one hand, since it releases the support from another power supply-charger (mandatory with any support and even with the original Apple Watch charger) but on the other hand it makes the whole set-up a bit uncomfortable.
In fact, we will have to occupy an electrical socket to make the support work, even if it is equally true that by occupying one socket we will have up to three devices being recharged and it is equally true that it would have been difficult to foresee a different solution: connecting the dock to a USB port for charging. , three devices could not have been recharged at the same time for a total of about 3 Ah as in this case, since at most one USB port of a standard charger provides 2.4 Ah.
The Ugreen support taken in hand gives the idea of being solid. Even if it is not particularly heavy (about 3 ounces) it has a mass and a shape more than adequate to make it stable on the desk or on the bedside table. It is also quite impressive: it is an accessory that is more than twenty centimeters high and with an almost square base of around 13 centimeters. Once put into service it is difficult to hide and to define as “minimalist”, both for the shape and for the black color.
The profile, however, is quite pleasant and once put into service with Apple Watch and a device resting on the protruding part (also using the “ergonomic” recess) the whole structure appears compact and pleasant. The material of which it is built is also good: the plastic is opaque and appears resistant, the base is covered in the upper part by a soft anti-slip silicone film with a texture, which recalls the skin. Under the base there are two rubber strips that are used to prevent accidental movements especially on shiny surfaces.
How are you doing
The “head” of the holder is magnetized to hold the Apple Watch in the correct orientation. It also has a recess very similar to that obtained in the magnetic charger that we find in the smartwatch box. During our tests we found the possibility of recharging Apple Watch in different settings and with different bracelets. It should only be taken into account that a closed and perhaps heavy bracelet like the one we use in our Apple Watch can represent a disturbing factor, not so much functional as stylistic.
The charging platform is quite large and quite inclined and therefore a heavy and closed bracelet struggles to stay in position; the dial tilts horizontally and tends to rotate. I vertical if the arm is closed it is possible that the Ugreen support is uncomfortable and in some cases even not usable.
The manufacturer could perhaps have avoided all of this with a less sloping charging platform and a differently shaped arm, but the watch would not have remained visible and Night Stand mode would perhaps not be activated.
Having said about the defects, which are such only with some specific bracelets, it must also be said about the merits. The Ugreen support greatly reduces the clutter on a desk, especially if you need to recharge as happens in 100% of the cases of those who own an Apple Watch, even an iPhone. We will have only one support and one cable, that of the power supply and we will have completely eliminated the inconvenience of the long (very long if we are talking about the first generation) Apple Watch charging cable; a second cable, the Lghtning one for iPhone, we can keep it collected near the stand.
The support also appears usable as a support for the iPhone and, partially, for an iPad mini, even if used as a stand in this second case it prevents charging Apple Watch because the tablet placed both horizontally and vertically covers the platform for the watch. In addition, an iPad mini is too slightly tilted to be used for watching a movie, unlike what happens with an iPhone.
Conclusions
In conclusion, the Ugreen stand is a well-made product that has its main advantage in the fact of integrating a charging platform for Apple Watch certified by Apple. Beyond this it offers two USB sockets to charge other Apple and non-Apple devices that are powered by this technology. Among the defects the use of a charger that goes to occupy a home socket and a support system for Apple Watch perfect only for some types of bracelets, only adaptable for others.
The price is very interesting: it costs 39.99 euros on Amazon; if you think that an Apple cable for charging Apple Watch costs 35 euros, the Apple dock (which only charges the watch) costs 89 euros and that a product, perhaps more elegant but similar in function like Belkin Valet costs 130 euros, yes can consider Ugreen's product a bargain.
Ugreen's Apple Watch dock can be purchased from here. There is also a version without power supply, useful for those who already have a power supply at home and which costs € 36.99
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