Apple released its official dock for the Apple Watch in mid November, making it more convenient to charge the device and use it as a bedside clock.
The white, circular dock, which looks like a CD, keeps the Watch in place with a magnetic puck in the middle, which is where you can leave your Watch to charge and use it in portrait mode. You can push the magnetic puck up from the bottom to make it stand up if you want to leave the watch on its side. Doing this activates Nightstand mode, which was released in September in watchOS2. When on its side, the dock helps the Watch act as a bedside clock. One especially handy feature the Watch has in Nightstand mode is that the Digital Crown acts like a snooze button for the alarm.
But the dock comes with a hefty price tag at $80. It’s more expensive than the dock for the iPhone, and there are a lot of cheaper third-party alternatives like the docks from ElevationLab, Forté from Twelve South, or even the Native Union Dock, which has a basic $60 dock and a $120 marble one.
The dock comes with a 2-meter Lightning cable, which connects to a power adapter, the same one that came initially with the Watch.
The dock could be one way Apple is trying to boost sales for the Watch, which saw a $50 discount when purchased with an iPhone, an unusual move from the company that typically doesn’t offer deals on its products. The sale ended November 15, but B&H and Best Buy just announced a sale of up to $25 or $30 off on stainless steel Apple Watch and aluminum Apple Watch Sport models.
If you’re in the market for a dock, the Apple Watch Magnetic Charging Dock is available online now or you can pick it up at a store on Friday.
Related Posts
We review a lot of health wearables. This one tracks something most ignore.
We've discussed the Hume Band’s design ethos before; specifically, how its screen-free, fabric-wrapped profile respects your attention span. But for those who treat their health as a long-term asset, the form factor is secondary to the data.
Rokid’s AI glasses offer a more affordable route to wearables than Meta Ray-Ban
The AI Glasses Style is completely screenless and weighs just 38.5 grams, making it light enough to wear all day without discomfort. Instead of visual overlays, it relies on voice, audio, and a built-in 12MP Sony camera capable of shooting 4K video in clips up to 10 minutes.
Forget the watch, Apple’s AI Pin might be its next wearable move
According to the details shared so far, the wearable is still in the very early stages of development. In fact, Apple could launch it or even cancel it, depending on how engineering and market conditions evolve. That said, people familiar with the project say the company is targeting a 2027 release window, a move that would position Apple directly against other AI wearable efforts from competitors like OpenAI and others experimenting with similar form factors.