Phone and camera mounts that track movement and follow you around the room to always keep you in the frame aren’t new, but the Belkin Auto-Tracking Stand Pro for iPhone is the first to feature Apple DockKit Integration. That means this new stand is fully integrated with iOS, so you can easily use it with any app.
And that’s a big deal. Belkin has made mounts like this before, such as the Magnetic Phone Mount with Face Tracking ($69.99), but the face-tracking technology could only be used in Belkin’s own app. It allowed you to capture video and share it across select social media channels, but you couldn’t use it in apps like FaceTime or Zoom. The technology was neat, but the uses were limited.
The new Stand Pro mount changes that. It can pan 360 degrees and tilt 90 degrees to follow its subject around the room smoothly and quietly. That makes it the perfect companion for FaceTime calls, allowing for casual conversations where you don’t have to sit still behind your desk (unless you want to). The tracking isn’t completely flawless: it will pick a person and follow them, but you can’t tell it to lock on to a single person. Still, it’s going to be a convenient choice for recording video of a moving subject. While the tech is great for content creators making videos, there are also uses for families: imagine catching video of the kids playing without having to chase after them with your phone.
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The stand uses MagSafe to attach to your phone – it works with iPhone 12 and later, as long as they’re in a MagSafe case – and pairs via NFC. Once connected to the iPhone, open any video app that uses the camera, and it will automatically follow you as you move. And if you don’t want it to follow you, a button on the front of the device will turn motion tracking on or off.
You can use the Stand Pro anywhere: it’s fully wireless, with a rechargeable battery that will run for about five hours. That makes it a lot easier to use and lets you take it wherever the action is, rather than being tethered to a power cable. But when it is plugged in, it will also charge your phone.
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However, the convenience of auto-tracking comes at a high price: the Belkin Stand Pro retails for $179.99. But if recording video or making calls with a camera that automatically follows you around the room is a feature you need, this is the only way to get it with widespread app compatibility. There's no word on when it will be available, but you can sign up to be notified when the Stand Pro is in stock on Belkin's website.
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Elizabeth Harper is a writer and editor with more than a decade of experience covering consumer technology and entertainment. In addition to writing for Techlicious, she's Editorial Director of Blizzard Watch and is published on sites all over the web, including Time, CBS, Engadget, The Daily Dot and DealNews.
