ErgoDriven Tempo review: a standing desk that actively makes you stand up

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There are a lot of standing desks out there, and from my research and conversations with people who use them day-to-day, quite a few don't use the standing function more than maybe once a week, which pretty much defeats the entire purpose of having a standing desk. ErgoDriven's Tempo Desk attempts to solve that by incorporating an automatic standing function as a core principle of its operation. Not just an add-on, not just a software update, not just a plug-and-play feature, but a core functionality of how it operates.

I'll admit I was a tad bit skeptical when I first heard about a desk that will do this automatically. I even thought through some of the other desks that I have in love and thought, how hard could it be to add this functionality with a plug-in or an adapter? While this could be done with some adapters and accessories, having it all built-in first-party is really what makes this thing shine. It has the sensors, the brain, and the processing already on board, so it can do all this without anything else needed. For any other desk, you need to add not just the controller that can automatically trigger the up and down, but probably a different control sensor as well, so it knows if you are actually sitting at the desk, just as this one does.

At the end of the day, that's really what sets the Tempo Desk apart: it moves itself. It uses an IR sensor to detect when you're at the desk and whether you're standing or sitting, and then it will raise or lower based on that information. The ErgoDriven CEO even claims that this is the first real innovation in standing desks in the past 15+ years, a bold claim in a world that seems to be ever-changing. However, perhaps they're not changing in the ways that ErgoDriven was desiring.

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future ) ErgoDriven Tempo Automatic Standing Desk: Price and Availability

The ErgoDriven Tempo is available for $899 direct from ErgoDriven - although at the time of the review, it's discouinted to $599.

Because of the uniqueness of this frame and brand, this is probably one of those desks that makes the most sense to buy just the frame for, yes, or others that would look good or would help in certain areas.

If you're really looking to make your own custom version of this desk and you don't want to spend money on their tabletop, choose your own desktop, but then choose the $499 frame. If you do end up getting their desktop and some other features, your spend could go as high as $900, depending on the configuration.

The Tempo smart controller sells for about $99 on its own, but having it plugged in and built-in makes a huge difference, as I mentioned. If you want the first-party smart standing desk feel and you don't already have a desk you love, it's absolutely worth buying the full kit. If you already have a standing desk you love, decide whether you want to swap out the legs for a more integrated feel or just buy the accessory.

ErgoDriven Tempo Automatic Standing Desk: Unboxing and First Impressions

It took two of us about 43 minutes to fully assemble this desk. The assembly process is familiar if you have built others, but still has a little bit of uniqueness, of course. I do appreciate that we didn't need any drills for this, which was really nice, and it helped us with assembly even faster because I'd forgotten to grab one on the way up to build this in the office we were setting this up in.

The desk itself looks sharp and feels sharp. Now the materials feel well-built, and the joints feel solid. Even though this is a much lesser-known desk company, I'm impressed with the quality. It's not the highest, most bougie end, but it's definitely upper-middle tier in quality, so hats off to the team at ErgoDriven for that.

ErgoDriven Tempo Automatic Standing Desk: Design & Build Quality

As I briefly mentioned above, the build quality for this is quite nice. It's better than I expected, to be honest, but also, with a company that I don't know very well, I didn't really have many expectations at all.

One thing that I was curious about was if this desk experience would be app-first or app-second. Meaning, would it be clear that the design company intended this to be used solely with an app and not for the handset to work well at all, or vice versa? In reality, after utilizing this for a while, it's been working quite nicely in both respects.

Yes, the controller does have some adjustments I would like to make in a perfect world, but so does every desk. All around, this works pretty seamlessly. It did take a little while to learn some of the quick commands, just like with any custom keyboard or mouse that has specialty commands. After looking those up a handful of times and building some muscle memory, I can now perform them pretty accurately.

ErgoDriven Tempo Automatic Standing Desk: In use

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future ) In using this desk for several weeks now, I can say that the motor is surprisingly quiet going up and down, so much so that I can raise it and lower it (or, should I say, allow it to raise and lower) whilst in a meeting, virtually or sometimes even in person, and not have it be a huge distraction. After a few times of adjusting to it, I actually got used to it. Now I just move with it rather than trying to fight it, unless I'm in a very important meeting or I'm presenting something.

Over the last few weeks, I definitely found myself sitting at this desk more than I normally did. The automation is just enough to help me stand without making it feel like I'm standing too much, or just constantly standing, which is a nice change of pace. I still get to enjoy my comfortable chair and take a load off every once in a while, but then I'm prompted to stand up so I don't end up sitting for an entire day. Focused at what I'm doing, I can still stay focused and stand.

ErgoDriven Tempo Automatic Standing Desk: Final verdict

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future ) My team and I are fairly active, so there are days when we have had heavy workouts or heavy other activity, and we don't appreciate the standing feature as much. I do believe this is probably more focused on people who sit for days on end, or on people with desk jobs at home who never leave and need some help getting more activity into their day.

If you're the kind of person who's already pretty active, this may feel a bit redundant or a tad frustrating because you know your body pretty well. For those looking to add more activity to their day due to their work schedule or low activity level, this may be the perfect solution.

It's a quality desk with a fun feature, and it's performed pretty well over the last several weeks. If you're looking for some more movement throughout your day, make sure to check this out.

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