Sep 25, 2024 08:00:00

A masterpiece alarm clock-style iPhone dock that will tidy up your bedside items, and a model that can be made with a 3D printer is also available

Many people probably have a variety of things placed on their bedside when they go to sleep, such as their smartphone and charger that they want to check as soon as they wake up in the morning, the clock and accessories that they habitually wear, and the alarm clock. Software engineer Fatih Arslan has released the process of creating a 3D printed iPhone dock inspired by famous artists as an item that neatly organizes items on the bedside while keeping them stylish.

How I Designed a Dieter Rams inspired iPhone Dock

https://arslan.io/2024/09/23/dieter-rams-inspired-iphone-dock/

Below is Arslan's bedside table, which contains a wireless charger for his smartphone, a desk clock for checking the time, and a tray to protect his hearing aids, clock, pens, etc.

In addition, Arslan had been looking for an item called 'DN40' for many years, and was concerned that if he put it on his bedside table, it would become too cluttered. DN40 is a digital clock released in 1976 by the German watch brand

BRAUN . Dieter Rams, one of the designers of DN40, is said to have influenced Apple's Jonathan Ive , who designed the iMac, iPod, and iPhone, and derivative designs of DN40 are still being released today. Below is the catalog of DN40 shown by Arslan.

As a way to incorporate the stylishness of the DN40 while keeping the bedside area neat and tidy, Arslan was inspired by the following video. Below is a video of the 'iPhone Standby Dock' made by Scott Yu Jiang, who posts videos of the designs and ideas of various items. The idea is to use the '

Standby ' mode, a new feature in iOS 17, which automatically displays clocks and widgets when the iPhone is locked and turned sideways to charge, to 'use the iPhone as a clock while charging.'

Making an iPhone Standby Mode Dock ft. OVERWERK - YouTube


Below is the iPhone dock created by Jean. By incorporating the iPhone's MagSafe charger into the dock, the smartphone can be easily fixed with a magnet and used as a watch while charging in standby mode.

Referring to designs inspired by Jean and other DN40s, Arslan came up with a plan to solve three problems: 'Make it smarter,' 'Incorporate the MagSafe charger in a reusable way (without glue),' and 'Also need a tray for other items.'

So, next, Arslan turned his attention to

the BC21 , which BRAUN has created by following the classic design of the DN40 but slimming it down for modern users. The BC21 has a large, non-slip tray-like area for placing the desk clock, and you can place your smartphone there and charge it wirelessly.

Inspired by Jean's idea of using the iPhone's standby mode and the design of the BC21, which created a space for a smartphone behind the watch, Arslan came up with a design that combined a watch, charger, and tray into one. Below is the first prototype version created, with a space for a leather tray that was on hand to fit snugly behind the L-shaped iPhone stand with a built-in MagSafe charger.

The design was derived from the prototype and is more aesthetically pleasing than the original. The stand fits snugly into the iPhone like a case, and the tray is designed to match the rounded corners of the iPhone for a unified look.

Below is the completed design that Arslan posted to X.

Here is how it looks like (these are not renders). My goal is to eliminate a tray + desk clock + phone charger into a single, cohesive design. I was inspired by the newer Braun designs. I put my watch when I sleep, and I always have a pen+notebook for late night ideas.

pic.twitter.com/SnKArqivZp

— Fatih Arslan (@fatih) September 19, 2024

When not using it as a watch, you can easily remove it by pushing the iPhone from the back.

From there, he solicited feedback and ideas from his friends, and decided on a rounder design and a more flashy color. According to Arslan, he decided on the bright orange color as a homage to the book '

Soft Electronics ,' a collection of home appliance designs from the 1960s to 1980s, and to the color of a hair dryer released by BRAUN in 1976.

The iPhone dock designed by Arslan is distributed on the digital content sales site Gumroad as a 3MF file for 3D printers. The price is set at '$0 or more', so it can be downloaded for free. The dock is made for the iPhone 16 Pro and is compatible with the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro, but is not recommended for other models.

Vintage inspired iPhone StandBy Dock