Foldable magnetic iPad mount proves stiff but useful [Review]

★★★★☆ If you like your iPad mounted for use with your computer setup -- hello, Universal Control and Sidecar -- this mount can help.
Photo: David Snow/Cult of Mac

If you like to mount your iPad as part of your computer setup — especially if you use Apple’s Universal Control or Sidecar — a foldable magnetic mount can be a big help. Ku Xiu offers a high-quality product. It sent me one to try out.

My main impressions? Quality materials, strong magnets, good multidirectional design — and maybe I can skip going to the gym. This thing requires some muscle to move around.

Ku Xiu Foldable Magnetic Mount for iPad

The Ku Xiu Foldable Magnetic Mount for iPad isn’t fancy. It comes snugly inserted in a basic box with no extra parts or written materials. But that’s OK, because what it is, what it does and how to use it are essentially self-explanatory.

It’s a folding arm attached to a magnetic platform for your iPad on one end and a clamp that fastens to the edge of your desk on the other.

In other words, unboxing and setup couldn’t be much simpler. Except for one thing.

Prepare for a minor workout

Clamping the arm to the desk couldn’t be much easier. But moving the arm around could be.
Photo: David Snow/Cult of Mac

Holding the neatly folded mount in my hands, the first thing I wondered was “how does it open or unfold?”

It’s not that it’s complicated or locked or anything. It’s that the device’s joints are so intentionally stiff — probably to keep it from moving on its own under the weight of your iPad — that it’s hard to unfold the arm.

I thought I was doing it wrong until I realized I just needed to manhandle it mercilessly. Presumably moving it around will get easier over time — but hopefully not so easy months from now that the iPad drags the arm down towards the floor.

No tools required

Setting up the mount simply meant unscrewing the clamp far enough to fit it on the edge of the desk, then screwing it back up until it sat firmly in place.

Then setting my 10.9 iPad Air (5th generation) on it was a cinch. I could place it on the mount platform in landscape mode and turn it to portrait or vice versa. The mount grips the back of the iPad magnetically as soon as you get it close enough.

And just like that, you’re ready to fire up Universal Control or Sidecar to use your iPad alongside your other display(s).

Strong magnets

The mount’s range of motion is impressive, as it extends and swivels.
Photo: David Snow/Cult of Mac

The magnets seems as strong as Ku Xiu claims:

“The KuXiu X36 panel features 88 powerful magnets that seamlessly attract to the 88 magnets built into the iPad, creating a sturdy and reliable connection. This super strong magnetic attraction ensures a secure fit and optimal performance.”

Can’t argue with that. I felt my iPad remained perfectly safe while mounted, yet came off the mount with a gentle tug (easiest with two hands).

Multidirectional design

One of the nicest aspects of the mount is all the many ways it can move, even if it’s a little difficult to move it. Ultimately, with a little brawn, you can position your tablet any which way:

On the clamp, the whole arm turns on a swivel. That part is easy to move.
Three lengths of arm are attached with joints that move, so you can fold up or unfold the arm in different ways.
The platform for iPad at the end of the third arm length can move up and down for tilting and side to side for angling.

Look no further than the back of the box for some positioning tips (and very little other information).
Photo: David Snow/Cult of Mac

You can pick up the Ku Xiu Foldable Magnetic Mount for iPad in silver or space gray on Amazon for $72 – $90, depending on your iPad size (10.9/11 inches or 12.9 inches).

Where to buy: Amazon

Ku Xiu provided Cult of Mac with a review unit for this article. See our reviews policy, and check out other in-depth reviews of Apple-related items.

★★★★☆

Foldable magnetic iPad mount proves stiff but useful [Review]