Apple Pencil is fantastic as a digital stylus, but its minimal design creates the obvious question of “Where do I put the thing when I’m not using it?” for anyone that owns one. Belkin has a new solution that borrows from the traditional inkwell: Base for Apple Pencil. If you regularly use Apple Pencil with iPad Pro at your desk or want a nice solution for storing it when not in use, Base is worth checking out…
Base doesn’t do anything fancy. There are no electronics, it doesn’t charge your Apple Pencil, and it doesn’t change the way Apple Pencil works (unless you’re like me and often forget to use it because it’s out of sight). It’s just a really nice looking stand to hold your Apple Pencil at your desk when you don’t need it.
That may be a hard sell at $24.99, but it’s certainly a quality stand: the finish is mirrored and only has the faintest Belkin logo, its made of aluminum so it doesn’t feel plasticky, and the bottom is weighted so it doesn’t tumble over easily.
But the real benefit is that it just looks good.
This was my old solution for keeping Apple Pencil out of my backpack or somewhere I’m more likely to use it: a pencil cup. Not exactly backpack friendly or minimal.
Base, however, is easy to toss into a backpack and even fits in most pockets if you just want to grab it and go. You can see the very faint Belkin logo above.
The bottom of Base is rubberized to create friction with the surface below it and prevent slipping and sliding. It gets dirty easily (like on this old outside table) but wipes off without much effort. It looks like a mini Mac Pro, except silver and a little less prone to fingerprints.
Look inside Base from the top and you’ll see what I mean about the lack of any electronics or connected features. It’s just a recessed layer of aluminum padded with a rubber interior perfectly fit to hold Apple Pencil and its tip.
The obvious evolution would be a charging solution of some sort. Remove Apple Pencil’s cap and the Lightning end holds it straight up, but alas no charging capabilities without your own modifications. You’d probably want to invest in a spare Apple Pencil cap (which you can’t do) if you charged this way though. If Apple Pencil could charge by the tip on contact, it might be worth adding a wire and the proper electronics but that’s not the case currently.
For now, Apple Pencil is a nice-to-have add-on accessory especially if you typically use it with your iPad Pro at the same location. I love the minimal build and the chrome finished aluminum has a cool Mac Pro aesthetic.
