Autonomous SmartDesk Core Review: Durable and Relatively Affordable

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• Specs As Reviewed

• Assembly: Fast and Easy, But Heavy

• Design: Clean, Smooth, and a Wide Working Surface

• Performance: Personalize With Four Different Heights

• Verdict: A Solid Desk for a Relatively Low Price

Key Takeaways

The SmartDesk Core from Autonomous may not have a ton of frills, but it has everything necessary to make it a fantastic standing desk. At 53 by 29 inches, the desktop surface is extremely large and can easily handle a three-monitor setup. It’s durable, has four personalized height buttons, and a wide height range of 29.4 to 48 inches.

Standing desks are game changers for a home office, especially if you have back issues or you're a naturally antsy person. The SmartDesk Core from Autonomous boasts a large surface area and a sturdy frame at a relatively affordable price. After testing out this desk for a few weeks, I'm in love.

The SmartDesk Core version I tested includes a white Classic-sized top and the same base frame used for all the tops. This setup specifically, as well as the same setup in black, retails for $499. You can customize the material and color of the top, the color of the base frame, and the size of the desktop, but the total price will vary based on your customizations.

I may not have been the biggest fan of the all-white design at first, but it grew on me. Plus, there are plenty of more important features to love about this motor-driven standing desk that definitely outweighed my design preferences.

Specs As Reviewed

• Top Dimensions: Classic size; 29 x 53 inches
• Height Range: 29.4 to 48 inches
• Lifting Speed: 2.3 inches per second
• Lifting Capacity: 265 lbs
• Base Material: SPCC steel
• Base Colors: White, Black, and Gray
• Top Material: Warp-proof MDF wood (or Natural Bamboo as a choice)
• Top Colors: White, Black, Walnut, White Oak, and Bamboo
• Shipping Weight of Base: 63 lbs
• Shipping Weight of Top: 47 lbs

Assembly: Fast and Easy, But Heavy

In the instruction manual for Autonomous' SmartDesk Core, it's recommended that you have two people to complete the build. You can probably do it by yourself, but you'll need to use your leg to leverage some pieces while you tighten them and have a ton of upper body strength to hold pieces in place. Luckily, I had my husband to assist me, so assembly was easy and took roughly 30 minutes to finish.

Related: Flexispot Kana Bamboo Standing Desk Review: Sturdy, Quiet, and Gorgeous

Many of the pieces are insanely heavy, which is great for durability and stability while working, but a pain when assembling. By itself, the Classic top weighs 47 pounds. Then, with the steel pieces and the motors in each leg, the base weighs about 63 pounds.

I received the white base and the white top in Classic size, which is 53 x 29 inches. There's a smaller top and a larger top to accommodate different working surface needs (and different budgets), but there's only one base piece that works for all three top sizes. You loosen the screws on the support beam that stretches across the length of your top piece, and adjust it to the proper size towards the end of assembly.

The assembly instructions are straightforward, and the only trouble you might run into is figuring out how to best balance the weight of the pieces as you tighten screws. With two people, this struggle is minimized greatly.

First, you attach the two legs to the support beam with eight total screws and the included Allen key. For this step, I couldn't tighten the screws with the legs and support beam on the ground. I had to prop the support beam up on my leg while my husband held the leg in place long enough for me to tighten the screws. I imagine this is because the legs are so much heavier than the support beam that they were sinking down into the carpet and the screw holes couldn't line up properly.

Related: Should You Buy a Standing Desk?

From this point, you attach the long feet to the two legs, again with screws and the Allen key. You flip the frame upright and attach the two side brackets to the end of the support beam. These two brackets and the support beam will evenly distribute the weight of the top piece. Then, there are 12 rubber cushions that go in scattered holes in the support beam and the brackets to help protect the top from unnecessary scraping and just create a seamless connection between the pieces.

The base is mainly completed at this point, and it's time to lay the top piece down on the floor with the underside facing up. The instructions say to flip the frame "with a partner" onto the top piece, adjust the support beam until you see the pre-drilled holes showing through, and fasten the base and the top together with 12 screws.

While the desk is still upside down, you attach the control box with two screws and the allen key and the control switch panel to the front of the desk with two screws and a Phillips head screwdriver, which is not included. Then, you connect the cable from the switch panel to the control box, as well as the cables from each leg to the control box. There are cable management clips included, but I was able to keep the cables in the twist ties they came in, so I didn't use these.

Then, it's time to flip over the 110-pound desk and plug it into a wall outlet. Before you can use the desk, you need to reset it, and you can repeat this reset process if the desk ever gets wonky in the future. To reset the desk, you press both the up and down arrows at the same time until it beeps and automatically lowers to its lowest possible height. Release both buttons and press just the down button until the height number appears on the display.

From there, you can start playing around with what height you want the desk at and customizing your preset buttons. When you find a height you like, you press the M button on the control switch panel until the LED flashes. Then, you press the number you want that height to be set to, and any time you press that number in the future, the desk will automatically go to your set height. Or, you can always manually move the desk up and down with the arrow buttons.

Design: Clean, Smooth, and a Wide Working Surface

With its solid steel frame and high-quality MDF wood top, the SmartDesk Core feels durable and well-constructed. The MDF wood surface is supposedly warp-proof, but I'd treat it just like any other wood surface just to be safe. I've been using coasters for sweaty drinks and pot holders for hot foods.

I love how large and smooth the desktop is. There's plenty of room for my laptop, monitor, keyboard, mouse, microphone, and numerous journals and pens. I love that there's enough space to easily switch between tasks and not have to completely rearrange my setup.

As I've said, I'm reviewing the Classic top, which measures 53 inches long by 29 inches wide. The Small top measures 43 by 24 inches, and the XL top measures 70.5 by 30 inches. When I first unboxed and set up the desk, the Classic top felt very large to me, so I think anyone who's used to smaller desks would find the Small top plenty big enough (and it's $100 cheaper).

Related: Victor High Rise Electric Standing Desk Review: Simple, Reliable, but Pricey

The white color probably wouldn't have been my first choice, but it's a modern choice and it looks very clean in my room. Plus, I think the same concept about paint colors applies to desks and other furniture. White or lighter furniture can make a room feel larger, while darker furniture can make a room feel smaller.

Plus, the woodgrain styles are more expensive. If you opt for Black or White with a Classic top, it's $499. Choosing Walnut or White Oak bumps your price to $549. Then, Bamboo or Dark Bamboo Classic tops are the most expensive combination at $649. Of course, if you get a smaller or larger top, your total will be different, but there are too many combinations to list here.

Performance: Personalize With Four Different Heights

I didn't experience any performance issues from this motor-driven standing desk. To go from the desk's lowest height to its highest point, it takes just under 15 seconds. Going from the highest point to the lowest point results in the same time of under 15 seconds. The motor noise is 50 dB, and it's barely noticeable if you have music playing while the desk is moving.

Many standing desks have four personalizable heights, but nonetheless, I still love this feature. You can set a preferred height for sitting and standing, and then someone else can choose their preferred height for sitting and standing. Alternatively, you could use the third and fourth buttons to play around with a standing height with your legs spread out or a sitting height on an exercise ball or some other non-traditional chair.

Related: The Best Affordable Standing Desks

Autonomous' SmartDesk Core has anti-collision technology that prevents it from crushing anything or knocking something off the wall---and I got to see it in action. I have a whiteboard that just sits on my desk and leans against the wall. When I raised the desk, the top of the whiteboard hit a clump of paint on the wall, and the desk stopped raising immediately and went back down a few inches.

Although this might have been a bit annoying when it happened, it's nice that the desk is so sensitive just in case it ever did hit something it wasn't supposed to. For example, if you left a tall box underneath your desk or you left an office chair under the desk that was taller than your set height, the desk gives you peace of mind that your belongings and the desk will be safe from accidental collisions.

Verdict: A Solid Desk for a Relatively Low Price

All in all, the SmartDesk Core from Autonomous is a solid standing desk that fits a wide variety of price ranges and design preferences. I've loved my experience with this standing desk, and it's converted me for life. Regular desks suck now. There may be other desks that have more customizable features or are made with more premium materials, but they probably wouldn't rival the affordability of the SmartDesk Core.

Autonomous SmartDesk Core

• Large, smooth working surface
• Fast height adjustments with a 29.4- to 48-inch range
• More affordable than other standing desks

• Heavy (over 100 pounds)
• White color may not be everyone?s style

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