Hands-On With Kensington's New $400 StudioDock for iPad Pro

Kensington in February began accepting pre-orders for the StudioDock docking station that it released for the iPad Pro, and now those StudioDock orders have started arriving to customers. We picked up one of the new StudioDocks to see if it's worth the high purchase price for an iPad workflow.


Available for the 11-inch ‌iPad Pro‌, the 10.9-inch iPad Air, and the 12.9-inch ‌iPad Pro‌, the StudioDock has a magnetic base where an ‌iPad‌ can attach, and it can be used in either landscape or portrait mode. We have the version for the 12.9-inch ‌iPad Pro‌, and it looks kind of like the Pro Display XDR stand.

This isn't an Apple-designed product so it's not quite as high quality as the Pro XDR stand, but the aluminum design looks nice on a desk, and the plastic back panel is hidden. The ‌iPad‌ attaches magnetically to the rubberized front of the stand, and plugs in to the USB-C connector.

In addition to orienting the ‌iPad‌ in landscape or portrait mode, you can also adjust the angle up and down to get the ideal position for what you're doing, and once situated, it doesn't move around.

The dock offers 37.5W passthrough charging to charge your ‌iPad‌ at full speed through USB-C, plus it adds multiple ports and charges your other accessories. There are three USB-A ports, one USB-C port, an HDMI 2.0 port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, an SD card reader, a Gigabit Ethernet port, and a power button. There are also two spots for Kensington locks to protect the StudioDock.

On the built-in Qi-based wireless charging pad that's at the bottom, you can charge an iPhone and AirPods, or any other Qi-based device, plus you can add-on a separate Apple Watch charging puck. You'll need to give up the USB-C port on the side whenever you want to use it, though. The ‌iPhone‌ charging spot charges at 7.5W, while the AirPods spot charges at 5W.

At the $380 to $400 price point, the StudioDock is aimed at those who use their iPads in a professional capacity. If the ‌iPad Pro‌ or ‌iPad Air‌ is your main work or school machine and you're using it in lieu of a Mac or PC, the StudioDock adds all of the versatility you need for a full day of work.

If you're using your ‌iPad‌ in a more casual capacity and have other Apple products that you use alongside it, the StudioDock is likely overkill.

The StudioDock can be purchased from the Kensington website. It's priced at $380 for the 11-inch model that works with the ‌iPad Pro‌ and ‌iPad Air‌ and $400 for the 12.9-inch model designed for Apple's largest ‌iPad Pro‌.

Popular Stories

iPhone 16 Battery Life Feature

iOS 26's New Battery Life Mode Available Only on These iPhone Models

Saturday June 21, 2025 9:02 am PDT by
Last week, we reported that iOS 26 introduces an opt-in Adaptive Power Mode on the iPhone, alongside the existing Low Power Mode. Apple says that Adaptive Power Mode can make "small performance adjustments" when necessary to extend an iPhone's battery life, including slightly lowering the display brightness or allowing some activities to "take a little longer." The full description of...
apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro

iPhone Driver's Licenses: These 17 U.S. States Offer Them or Will Later

Thursday June 19, 2025 11:28 am PDT by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Unfortunately, this feature continues to roll out very slowly since it was announced in 2021, with only nine U.S. states and Puerto...
ios 26 call holding

iOS 26 Beta is Hiding a New Ringtone — Here's What It Sounds Like

Thursday June 19, 2025 7:25 pm PDT by
Apple is hiding a new ringtone within iOS 26. The new ringtone is an alternative version of the existing Reflection ringtone, which has been the default ringtone since the iPhone X was released in 2017. It was discovered within the code for the first developer beta of iOS 26, but it remains hidden, so you will not find it in the list of ringtones available in the Settings app for now. It...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in Three Months With These 12 New Features

Saturday June 21, 2025 2:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are around three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices from credible sources. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in Three Months With These 12 New Features

Saturday June 14, 2025 5:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X through iPhone 14 Pro have a...
All Screen iPhone 2027 Feature 1

iPhone Reportedly Moving to All-Screen Design in Two Stages

Sunday June 22, 2025 3:58 pm PDT by
Apple has long been working towards an iPhone with an all-screen design, and it might finally achieve the feat in a few more years from now. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that Apple will shrink the size of the Dynamic Island on new iPhone models released next year. A year after that, he expects Apple to release a redesigned 20th-anniversary iPhone model....
Wi Fi WiFi General Feature

iOS 26 Adding Two New Wi-Fi Features, Allows AirDrop and AirPlay Alternatives

Saturday June 21, 2025 7:02 am PDT by
iOS 26 is gaining two new Wi-Fi features, including Captive Assist and Wi-Fi Aware. MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris discovered a reference to Captive Assist within the code for the first iOS 26 developer beta, but Apple has yet to enable the feature. It should be available by the time the software update is released later this year. In his Power On newsletter last month, Bloomberg's...
apple watch ultra 2 new black

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Finally Coming After Two-Year Hiatus

Monday June 16, 2025 8:45 am PDT by
Apple will finally deliver the Apple Watch Ultra 3 sometime this year, according to analyst Jeff Pu of GF Securities Hong Kong (via @jukanlosreve). The analyst expects both the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 to arrive this year (likely alongside the new iPhone 17 lineup, if previous launches are anything to go by), according to his latest product roadmap shared with...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro's Alleged Vapor Chamber Cooling System Partly Revealed

Sunday June 22, 2025 6:37 am PDT by
Apple's upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max models are rumored to be equipped with a vapor chamber cooling system, and a leaker known as Majin Bu today shared a photo of an alleged copper thermal plate for the system. Many high-end Android smartphones like Samsung's Galaxy S25 Ultra are equipped with a vapor chamber cooling system, which can manage heat dissipation inside the...

Top Rated Comments

alphaswift Avatar
56 months ago
$400 for a dock/stand for an Ipad? I'm trying to imagine how much money I'd have to have laying around to consider something like this. Edit: A lot of money.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DanTSX Avatar
56 months ago
April 1st is still two weeks away guys....
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Jay42 Avatar
56 months ago
Is that Apple Watch charger a joke? Who wants their watch dangling off the side of their display?
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sracer Avatar
56 months ago

I wonder how much it actually costs to make? Maybe there’s a fashion now for charging Apple customers for such peripherals, will pay it. It’s unfair for those of us who are equally enthusiastic and maybe out of work through illness or disability, and having one of these would be actually very useful but also would make life much easier, but simply cannot afford it.
Yes, there are people who place a premium value on quality and design and willing to pay for it. My only concern with this Kensington option is how well will it accommodate future iPads.

Here's a link to the everyday man's/woman's alternative... $70 on Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Multiport-Adapter-Delivery-Headphone-Adjustable/dp/B08PFC2ZW9/
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
edk99 Avatar
56 months ago
For $199 it could be a no brainer. $399 hard pass.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AppleTO Avatar
56 months ago
That’s pretty small screen to be using as essentially a desktop replacement. I would just buy an iMac for something like this.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)