Twelve South HiRise 3 Deluxe Review: StandBy Mode Perfected

The debate over the best MagSafe iPhone stand rages on with the release of the HiRise 3 Deluxe from Twelve South. This multi-device dock wedges itself into the conversation because of its narrow footprint, an adjustable phone holder, and a multi-angle fast Apple Watch charger. Not only did it power my devices as advertised, but it looked great doing so, too. You’ll just have to decide if it’s worth the $149.99 price.

Twelve South HiRise 3 Deluxe

HiRise 3 Deluxe is a multi-charger with the same design integrity as the Apple products it charges. Soft vegan leather covers the base and MagSafe charger on this black aluminum stand.

Cable Length

59in (1.5m)

Dimensions

6 x 3.4 x 6.3in (15.4 x 8.5 x 15.9cm)

Adapter Power

40W

Pros

• Vegan leather made the stand feel nice
• Second Qi-charging spot with 7.5W
• Watch and phone chargers are adjustable

The HiRise 3 Deluxe Is Actually Covered in Vegan Leather

The charging station might look like it’s made out of hard plastic, but the base and MagSafe charger are actually covered in soft vegan leather. The pole is aluminum. I think I actually made an “ooh” sound when taking it out of its packaging. While the HiRise 3 Deluxe might look ordinary in pictures, up close, it made a great impression. It made a more luxurious statement on my nightstand than I expected it to.

The Nomad Base One Max 3-in-1 has heft, crafted with metal and glass, but Twelve South’s design approach with vegan leather and aluminum also aims for a premium product with the materials it uses. I do wish this charger had a bit more weight to it, but so far it hasn’t shifted around on any tabletop thanks to its rubber footing.

In a world of wide iPhone chargers, the HiRise 3 Deluxe goes narrow. The dock pushes its charging spots forward and back to keep its footprint minimal. Twelve South says the base takes up less space than an iPhone 15 Pro Max. Personally, I haven’t felt too contained by dock sizes, but this orientation is less common, so it could be helpful for people using it on their desk or on a small nightstand.

StandBy By Design

The HiRise 3 Deluxe, with its tall MagSafe iPhone holder, comes along at the right time because of iOS 17’s new StandBy mode. When an iPhone with the newest operating system is attached and turned sideways, it goes into a big widget mode. It’s perfect for showing ambient information.

I don’t need an Apple Watch charger on my desk, but I do need one for overnight charging. I thought the thin aluminum pole holding the tilting MagSafe charger looked elegant. Being able to angle the phone also came in handy for seeing the phone at the perfect viewing angle. This stand made my iPhone 15 Pro look like an actual bedside clock—as shown in the top image.

The Difference Is in the Details

If you haven’t noticed, a lot of charging stations are targeted at powering up all your Apple devices—rather than just an iPhone. I mean, just an overabundance of options are available in all styles at all price points. I haven’t tried all of these products, but I’ve tried a lot of them over the years. In this case, Twelve South makes some nice choices on the finest of details with the HiRise 3 Deluxe that will be apparent to people paying attention.

• Instead of a 5W Qi charger for AirPods, the wireless charging spot in the back of the stand is 7.5W—the top speed for iPhones with non-MagSafe wireless charging. This makes using the spot to charge a second phone or anything else Qi-enabled is much more useful.
• The Apple Watch charger tilts up and down. This should mean that no matter what band you’re using, it doesn’t need to be disconnected to charge—a potential problem for flat-laying chargers and Sport Loop band wearers.
• The MagSafe charger tilts for different viewing angles. There are all kinds of scenarios where tilting the phone up or down a little bit goes a long way to better see the clock in StandBy mode.

Beyond these features, there’s also the detail of every type of iPhone being able to magnetically attach without hitting a watch below it. When you have a phone that can swivel from landscape to portrait and a watch charger below it that can be vertical, sometimes those arrangements aren’t fully considered—here they seem to have been.

Even last year, on Twelve South’s HiRise 3, if you used a case on the phone, it wouldn’t sit flush on the magnetic charger because of the raised camera bump. I wasn’t too fond of that small detail on that product. I haven’t found any of those miscues on the HiRise 3 Deluxe.

In fact, there’s just not much to quibble about with this product beyond cost. There’s an international power adapter in the box that has a fixed length of 59 inches. I didn’t find the cable situation limiting. It might have been nice for a UBS-C connection to the dock, but I also liked that everything I needed to get it powered was there and ready to go.

Price and Availability for HiRise 3 Deluxe

The HiRise 3 Deluxe is available to order right now for $149.99. The company sold out of its initial stock, so shipping times will vary, but it can still be ordered now.

Should You Buy the Twelve South HiRise 3 Deluxe?

In an ideal world, the Twelve South HiRise 3 Deluxe wouldn’t cost nearly $150. Our world is flawed, however, and it does. But beyond its high price, compared to no-name brands found on Amazon, it has been a terrific nightstand charging solution. Because of its narrow base and additional 7.5W wireless charging spot, I think it could also make an excellent desk option.

Then again, there aren’t too many official MagSafe chargers with spots for multiple Apple devices that tend to fall under $100 anymore. If you are willing to take the plunge, this is one of the most well-thought-out options currently on the market. It would be nice if white was also a color option, but that might just be getting greedy.

Twelve South HiRise 3 Deluxe

HiRise 3 Deluxe is a multi-charger with the same design integrity as the Apple products it charges. Soft vegan leather covers the base and MagSafe charger on this black aluminum stand.