Popular peripheral maker Satechi is launching a new compact hub for Macs called Aluminum Mini Docking Station. The new hub expands one USB 3 port into four USB 3 ports plus adds access other networking and audio/video ports. Like a lot of other Satechi hardware, Aluminum Mini Docking Station is color-matched in silver to fit in with an iMac or Mac mini too.
Specifically, Aluminum Mini Docking Station includes two front-facing USB 3 ports and a front-facing 3.5mm audio port plus two more USB 3 ports on the back next to a gigabit Ethernet port, HDMI port, and DVI video port. Satechi says the HDMI port supports 4K output or multiple monitors simultaneously with the DVI out. The specs don’t list the refresh rate but typical for Displaylink USB 3 is 30Hz at 4K or 60-120 at 1080P.
In terms of miniaturization and compactness, Satechi’s Aluminum Mini Docking Station is a 3.7-inch by 3.7-inch box that measures 1.75-inches tall. For scale, compare that to the current Mac mini design which is a 7.7-inch box just slightly shorter at 1.4-inches tall.
Check out the full specs below:
- 4k HDMI Video Output – to a single HDMI display, with support to up to 4096 x 2160p Ultra HD resolutions
- 4x USB 3.0 Ports – quickly and efficiently transfer data between your computer and camera, smartphone, music player, tablet, flash drive, and external hard drive at rates up to 5Gbps
- DVI Output Port – can display a resolution of up to 2560 x 1600 or 1920 x 1200
- Use this docking station to participate on multiple networks, replace damaged Ethernet ports, add a physical network connection to wireless-only systems, & replace network cards
- The unit supports 10/100/1000Mbps for high-speed connectivity, important for file sharing, downloads, streaming, web videos, & more
If you’re into the look, Aluminum Mini Docking Station looks to have the potential to expand your Mac’s ports, wrangling together multiple connections in one box, and even make commonly used ports like USB and the headphone jack more accessible.
You won’t find the high transfer speed of Thunderbolt 2 on this dock however (see our roundup of options here), but you also won’t find the $200-$300+ price tag on Thunderbolt docks either if USB 3 is fine for your workflow.
Satechi Aluminum Mini Docking Station launches on Friday for $169; order now and save $20 to pick it up for $149 and free shipping.
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I feel like if they’d add some sort of through-power ability for the Retina MacBook then this would be a lot more useful. Especially if the hub itself could be powered from the same adaptor. But I’ve honestly no idea whether USB-C power works like that.
I’ve seen other reviews of MacBook docking stations that do that. But they’re more expensive.
I have a fear that I may be needing something like this when the 2016 MacBook Pro arrives.
Yeah — though hopefully they’ll offer Thunderbolt 3 on the pro machines as a single USB-C shaped port can be both USB and Thunderbolt. So professional users can still get the bandwidth if they need it, but us can all just use whatever we care to pay for and Apple can eliminate a further few ports and save another millimetre. Everyone’s happy!
It’s huge, expensive, and ugly. Why does this deserve a place on the main page, exactly?
My thoughts also.. It would be viable, if it was USB-C dock. Considering Apple is about to remove USB-A ports from their future MacBooks – this thing is DOA.
I originally thought it was a USB-C device at first, which might have explained the cost if not the size. That thing looks like it was built by a high school shop class.
Eat your ports!
just another box on the table, not a gain in functionality