iLevel 2 Adjustable Stand

The iLevel 2 adjusts from 5.4 to 7.9 inches (136 to 200 mm) tall, and the height is set by dragging a single slider.

On most stands the angle is fixed when the stand is made, or it is changed by folding legs into notches. The iLevel replaces that with a sliding mechanism, so the viewing angle moves continuously instead of in steps. Rain Design says the aim is a precise angle reached easily. The tilt also brings the screen closer to the user, and it opens up airflow around the notebook.

The base is anodized aluminium, finished to match MacBooks. Because the metal is in contact with the notebook, it also works as a heat sink and draws heat away from the machine. That is a plain physical effect, and Rain Design lists it as the way the stand cools.

Rain Design says the iLevel is compatible with all notebooks. There is also open space under the stand, which is big enough to stash a keyboard when the desk needs clearing. The current model is the second-generation iLevel2, which the company also calls simply iLevel.

Rain Design was founded in San Francisco, and its first hit, in 2003, was the iGo desk for the Apple iMac G4. A company that started by building furniture around one specific Apple machine has, about a decade later, produced a stand meant to fit every notebook, and the aluminium finish is the one detail that still points back to Apple.