Twelve South today is launching its first product of the year today, giving you a premium place to dock your MacBook. The new BookArc Flex features a unique and elegant design that on top of celebrating the company’s 15th anniversary with a return to its original product category, delivers a one-size-fits-all approach to Clamshell Mode stands.
It’s been 15 years since Twelve South first launched its original product – the BookArc MacBook Stand. Call it getting sentimental or just returning to its roots, but the brand is setting its sights back on that original lineup with the launch of a new and improved take on vertical MacBook docks. There’s where the new Twelve South BookArc Flex comes in, sporting a redesigned form-factor and all the same features as before.
The premise with the new BookArc Flex remains the same, but just about everything else has changed. It’s a vertical MacBook stand that saves room on your desk by keeping your device closed and upright. You can use it just as a space to store your machine when it’s not in use, or take advantage of the Clamshell Mode functionality that lets you the MacBook with an external monitor, keyboard, and mouse.
Aside from that, Twelve South has learned a lot over the past 15 years and is applying that experience towards making the new BookArc Flex a better product than its predecessors. The looks are easily the best way that this shines through, as the new stand and its sleek exterior are much more modern than we’ve seen from previous releases. The design pairs two arches together with some supports underneath bridging everything together – a build that lets the weight of your machine naturally hold it in place. There’s plenty of soft rubber pads for actually holding your machine, with a metal frame to keep the whole package sturdy.
Twelve South first showed me this stand a few months back. The company is based in Charleston, South Carolina, and it wanted that influence to show through in a product celebrating the 15-year milestone. So it turned its attention to the Noisette Creek Pedestrian Bridge – a landmark with a design that lent itself perfectly towards being a MacBook accessory on your desk.
This design is for more than just looks, too. Being the Twelve South BookArc Flex isn’t just a flashy title, the stand actually flexes in order to hold up your MacBook. It’s a unique one-size-fits-all approach that sounds fun on paper and is even more impressive in person. I didn’t expect docking my machine to be so effortless, but it really is as simple as placing your Mac in between the metal arches and letting the flexing design handle the rest.
It’s even better coming from what we’ve seen from the company in the past as far as MacBook docks go. Twelve South previously relied on specialized rubber pads that could be swapped out of a metal frame to support whichever MacBook you had. Now that has been thrown out the window, with an approach that is just as ready for your 16-inch MacBook Pro as it is a 13-inch MacBook Air.
I’ve personally been using mine with a 14-inch M2 Pro MacBook Pro, and it has been so handy. The flexing design makes it the same one-handed process as before to undock – just lifting my machine out and taking it with me.
All of that adds up to a MacBook stand that will take up less room on your desk. I’ve been using it in conjunction with my M3 iMac, setting my MacBook off to the side to store away when not in use without taking up so much space on my desk. Maybe it’s just that time of year where I actually try to hit a New Year’s resolution, but the BookArc Flex has been great for sticking along with my goal of having a more minimalist workstation.
Twelve South’s newest Mac accessory is hitting store shelves today to go alongside its release. The MacBook stand comes in one of three designs, including the chrome version I’m reviewing today at $59.99, as well as another option with matte black and white colorways at $49.99 each. All are shipping directly from Twelve South.
9to5Toys’ Take
I’ve been using the new BookArc Flex from Twelve South for the past few weeks and quite simply have to say that I love it. The design is just so whimsical and the quality retains the same premium approach that I’ve been yelling from the rooftops about for years at this point. Checks every box that I would want to see from a release like this, and then some.
I just wish that it wasn’t such a niche product category.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been enjoying having a dedicated place to stow my MacBook away when I’m not using it. It sure as hell beats the side of the couch or just placing it haphazardly right on my desk, that’s for sure. But that’s not the full story of why you’d want to bring the BookArc Flex to your setup.
Clamshell Mode was the original selling point of the first Twelve South MacBook stand, and it still remains the cornerstone of its new and improved release. If you’re not someone that already pairs your MacBook with an external set of peripherals – or at least aren’t looking to start – then it’s going to be hard to recommend such a specific accessory. If you’re one of those folk who has been waiting for a nicer way to dock your Mac without taking up too much space, then this is surely where the conversation begins and ends – it’s just that good.
Even if you aren’t personally excited about scoring the new BookArc Flex, the craftsmanship and design that went into bringing this product to shelves is at least impressive all on its own. After all, if Twelve South can put this much thought into something on the more niche side, I can’t wait to see what it has in store for some of the more flagship releases throughout 2024.
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