Native Union Rise Dock review: A modern throne for your MagSafe charger

Form factor

Weighing in at roughly a pound, the Native Union Rise Dock is made almost entirely from stainless steel. This provides not only necessary weight but expresses excellent build quality.

It has a modern design with sharp corners and crisp angles. You won't find any curves or rounded edges here.

Rise Dock comes in two parts — the body and the kickstand stand that slots into the back. Most of the weight is relegated to the body, with the stand being reasonably slim.

A non-slip rubberized pad covers the entirety of the front, which helps hold onto your device when mounted. To insert your MagSafe charging puck — that's right, you need to provide your own MagSafe charging puck — you insert the USB-C end into the dock and pull it through. Once all the way through, you'll insert the puck into the dock, where it sits flush against the front.

The cable routes down the back of the device and can go either left or right of the stand. On the right edge is a depressed Native Union logo.

Functionality and use

Using Rise Dock is straightforward. It's just a typical MagSafe charger. Bring your iPhone 12 near and the magnet will pull it into position. The magnet holds strong, and the rubberized pad prevents the phone from moving.

We used the Rise Dock in both portrait and landscape orientations and had absolutely no issue. It is perfect for watching videos and was at a good angle for taking a FaceTime call. Even vibrating during a call, our phone never came free.

While Native Union designed the Rise Dock to be used vertically as a stand, it seems like a missed opportunity to also build in the ability to work flat. All that is needed would have been to put an extra groove at the bottom to allow the cable to be routed out while lying flat. You wouldn't have seen this from the front, and would also fit more desks.

This isn't a dealbreaker, and most will surely prefer to use it upright, but having that flat option would have built in the slightest bit more value.

Should you buy Native Union's Rise Dock?

Of all the docks we've tested thus far for MagSafe, Native Union rises to the top.

It looks great and provides enhanced functionality over a solo MagSafe charging puck. It doesn't charge any different than the puck on its own, but the ability to prop up your iPhone and use it in landscape orientation is a great benefit for any desk or nightstand.

The price here is borderline high, but we believe it is fair for the market. Steel isn't cheap these days, and the amount in here seems perfect. Just enough for ample weight but not too much as to be excessive and bump up the cost unnecessarily.

Considering you need to provide a MagSafe charging puck — putting the entire sunk cost at closer to $80 — any higher would push this into the "hard to justify" category.

As long as you're ok with the increased investment in your charging solution and appreciate the black, modern aesthetic, we have no qualms recommending the Rise Dock to any iPhone 12 user.

Pros

• Sleek design
• Well weighted for sturdy hold
• Easy to assemble
• Non-slip grips on front and bottom
• MagSafe puck easily goes in and out
• Decent price
• Works in portrait and landscape

Cons

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Where to buy

You can find Native Union's Rise Dock on Amazon in black for $49.99.