HoveBar Duo by Twelve South, a stand for every conceivable use

We tested the HoverBar Duo from Twelve South, An articulated stand that allows you to position your iPad at different heights and positions, with the quality of materials and finishes that you would expect from a Top product.

With the endless array of mounts and articulated arms on the market, it’s hard to think there would be an egg for one more, but Twelve South has managed to create a product that is unique, of the highest quality, and with it. versatility hard to match. An articulated arm with base for your desk or table, which you can swap out for a clip to place on a shelf, kitchen bar or hook on the bed, which you can place in almost any position imaginable and which keeps your iPad secure. Besides, it is compatible with any model of iPad, even the iPhone if you wish.

Quality of materials

As is customary at Twelve South, the quality of the materials is beyond doubt. In this accessory, metal and plastic are combined in their different parts to give the whole a good balance between strength, weight and maneuverability. Thus, the articulated arm is metallic, with two hinges which allow the assembly to be adjusted in height and distance. The arm is attached to the base with another joint that allows 360º rotation, and the clamp which will take care of clamping your iPad with another ball joint which in addition to the rotation allows the tilt of your iPad, so that it always looks at your face, even if you use it in the most bass possible, write for example.

The base and the clamp are made of plastic. The first is heavy, to give stability to the whole. Heavy enough to hold the iPad in any position without dropping it, but not heavy enough to move your arm to the desired position without having to use a hand to hold it to the table. It also has a dedicated space to leave the Apple Pencil, since you will not be able to have it on the iPad, since the clip just takes up the space when charging the Apple Pencil. The clamp allows a wide opening, enough to fit the iPad Pro 12.9 ″, device that I used in this review. A spring system will keep your iPad firmly attached, at the cost of having to use both hands again to open the clip when inserting or removing the iPad. The surfaces that grip your iPad are perfectly coated so as not to damage the surface of the tablet.

In the box, as we told you before, another bracket fixing system is included, by means of a clamp, which you can use to secure it to the edge of your desk, to a shelf or to a bar. of the kitchen. Switching to this clamp from the already installed base when you remove it from the box will take a few minutes. It’s not a complicated change, far from it, as you can see in the video, but it’s not a quick system that will allow you to go from base to clamp or from clamp to base every time you go. will need it. It is rather a system thought of “I keep the base or I keep the clamp”. The clamp also gives good stability to the entire system, and is clamped to the surface by an adjustable screw, similar to that of microphone arms.

Several positions, several possibilities

The best thing about the arm is the infinity of positions that its hinges and ball joints allow you to place your iPad in any position you want. Higher, lower, closer, further … if we add to that the base-clamp system, the reality is that the HoverBar Duo support will serve you for the use you want to give it. After adjusting the height and position of the arm, you can adjust the rotation and tilt of the iPad. You can place it horizontally or vertically thanks to the 360º rotation system of the clamp, and you can also adjust its inclination. You can even place iPad at desk level and tilt it up so you can type on its onscreen keyboard or use Apple Pencil.

However, the articular system of the arm is not perfect. I guess Twelve South had to choose between system stability and security and ease of articulation, which made the arm difficult to articulate. You will need both hands, and almost better, to place the arm in the desired position before placing the iPad, and after making the final adjustments. The elbows have screws that you can adjust to give more or less resistance, but it’s hard, there’s no arguing. A system with internal springs to make the movement of the arm more fluid like the one found in some microphone arms would have been ideal, but it would have had a negative impact on the dimensions of the stand, and much more on its price.

Editorial review

Twelve South’s HoverBar Duo is today the best product in this class you can find for its build quality and versatility, giving you solutions for any use you want to give the iPad. It is also compatible with any model of iPad, even with the iPhone horizontally, its flaws, which it has, cannot help but say that this is a product of great quality and utility. , which any iPad user will appreciate having on their desktop. Its price on Amazon is $ 89.99 (link), more expensive than other conventional media but with a huge difference in terms of possibilities of use.

The inconvenients

• Difficult to articulate arm hinges
• The exchange of the base and the caliper is laborious