TikTok users with a massive fan base and folks using YouTube for videos may not have to sit in the same place, with a new stand that can track, pan, and follow while they record.
The front-facing camera of phones these days is seriously impressive, and one of the reasons why scrolling through social media can be a joy, at times. The quality is so good, and provided the talent and topic is great, too, you’ll get a decent video experience.
But often enough, those experiences are locked in place.
A phone is on a stand or a phone is in a hand, with that tiny bit of poetic diatribe just an example of what happens for creators in the mobile world. They’re often stuck in their position, unless they happen to be holding their phone and moving around, or even using the old fashioned selfie stick.
Belkin has attempted to change this in the past with a motorised iPhone stand of sorts, and the company is giving it a second go with something more advanced.
The latest version is called the Auto-Tracking Stand Pro, and it’s not your traditional phone stand. Inside is a motorised component developed to work with Apple’s DockKit API to track on-screen position and frame scenes better, so creators don’t have to touch the screen and can let the stand do the work.
Creators are clearly one of the focuses, but it could also work with other uses, such as keeping you in view during a video conference, particularly if you happen to be moving your arms about and showing a presentation.
Essentially, the Belkin Stand Pro can rotate flat in a 360 degree pan, and also change its tilt by aiming up to 90 degrees as it moves, repositioning a phone’s camera to keep a subject in frame without and human intervention. It’ll also do this on battery, working with up to five hours of battery life sans-cable, though it does come with a 30W plug to recharge the hardware and keep a phone charged at the same time.
The whole concept is built with MagSafe, making it iPhone-specific for the iPhone 12 and higher — pretty much the entire iPhone range except for the iPhone SE — thanks to how DockKit is a part of iOS specifically.
“The Stand Pro is unlike any other Belkin product we’ve created. Combining premium Belkin quality, impressively responsive robotics, and advanced subject tracking technology with DockKit, we’re excited to provide content creators with a thoughtfully designed product that will effortlessly enhance the creation process,” said Melody Tecson, Vice President of Product Management at Belkin.
Tecson’s comment aside, we’re not sure the Auto-Tracking Stand Pro necessarily is a robot of sorts, largely because it doesn’t move around your bench top with wheels, but rather tracks your position.
If you can imagine a stand or tripod sitting on a surface and then following your position while it remains stationary in the same position, that’s what’s happening with this stand. It’s not unlike a style of Amazon Echo smart display we’ve seen in the past, the Echo Show 10, which could match your position for video calls if need be.
However, the idea is still clever and useful, and its ability to work with an Apple inclusion specifically built to keep subjects within frame makes the stand that much more interesting. It might even save savvy creators from needing an extra person in the room with them helping them along.
The Belkin Auto-Tracking Stand Pro arrives in Australia this week for $299.95.
