I think the Lookstand is both a great and bad idea. Here’s why it’s great. At just a couple of centimeters thin, the Lookstand is everything you want in your phone but don’t have. It works as a stand, a grip, and opens out into a glorious tripod that can easily elevate your phone a couple of inches off the ground and at any angle you want. Forget the pop socket, forget those novelty stick-on rings, or those kick-stand cases… the Lookstand is all of them, and more.

The all-metal stand weighs a mere 1.5 ounces and attaches itself either to the back of your phone or your phone-case. When folded, it’s no larger than a pack of gum, and when opened out, can be used either as a kickstand or a prop-stand, as a selfie-stick, or a tripod that holds your phone up as high as 10 inches, in both portrait and landscape. The slim product stays adhered to the back of your phone without occupying too much mass or space. It’s thin enough to let you slide your phone into your pocket without any difficulty, and the only foreseeable drawback is that it may disrupt your phone’s ability to wirelessly charge.

Here’s why it’s a bad idea. The Lookstand’s timing is just absolutely unfortunate. We’ve owned smartphones for over 10 years and the fact that a product like the Lookstand exists only now feels like someone should have thought of this MUCH sooner… at least before foldable phones came into the picture, because here’s what’s bad about the Lookstand. It’s come at a time when phones are either integrating flexible displays into their designs, or massive 4-6 camera lens bumps on their rears, making it sort of challenging for the Lookstand to truly help ‘elevate’ the smartphone experience. However, if the design can stay relevant and useful for at least the next 3 years, I’d call it a big win.

Designer: LOOK#