Review: The ElevationHub Adds an Extra USB Port and SD Card Slot to Your Mac's Power Adapter

[MacRumors]

ElevationLab has a range of useful accessories for Apple products, and in June, launched a new accessory that's designed to turn the Mac's power adapter into a hub.

There are many USB-C hubs available on the market, but the ElevationHub is unique because it works directly with the power adapter rather than plugging into the Mac itself. The USB-C accessory attaches to the USB-C port on one of Apple's official chargers for the MacBook Pro, providing additional ports.

Design wise, it's made from the same white plastic as Apple's power adapter for a sleek, clean look when attached, and it is sized to fit the 61W, 87W, and 96W power adapters Apple offers. For those with a MacBook Air, it unfortunately isn't recommended with the 30W power adapters.

The best fit is with the 61W power adapter Apple provides with the 13-inch MacBook Pro, but it also works fine with the larger power adapters supplied with the 15 and 16-inch MacBook Pro models. Though able to fit those chargers, the ElevationHub is limited to passthrough charging up to 61W, so it may not be able to supply enough power to charge the larger MacBook Pro models when they're under a heavy load.

For that reason, it's an ideal product for the 13-inch MacBook Pro models, though if you don't often do system intensive tasks on a larger MacBook Pro, it should also work fine. If used with larger MacBook Pro models, be aware that they will charge slower than with a standard USB-C cable.

In addition to 61W passthrough charging, the ElevationHub includes a USB-A 3.0 port and an SD card slot, useful for attaching USB-A accessories or getting photos from an SD card pulled from a camera or drone.

You can purchase the ElevationHub with an optional 6-foot USB-C cable that supports transfer speeds up to 5Gb/s, or use it with the standard USB-C cable that Apple provides. It comes with a built-in cable wrap for cable management, and I do recommend the add-on cable even though it's $10 more because it's high quality and features a nice braided design that will hold up to heavy use.

Depending on your particular desk setup, the ElevationHub might be of limited use. I charge my MacBook Pro using a power adapter that's plugged in behind my table and in a cable management box, which means that USB-A port and SD card slot are not easy to get to. I don't find this to be a convenient solution in that situation, but for those who have a setup where the charging is done in a way that keeps the power adapter on a desk, it's useful.

If you plan to use those ports in a plug something in and forget about it kind of way, there are more possibilities. You could plug an SSD or hard drive into the USB-A port and tuck it away with the power adapter under a desk for a convenient Time Machine or add-on storage solution, and the same goes for the SD card slot. All of the ports worked as expected during my testing.

ElevationHub is also useful for travel. Airports, libraries, and schools often have desktop outlets, and that's the kind of situation where the ElevationHub comes in handy. It adds ports you might need for charging an iPhone or connecting an SSD, plus the cable wrangling feature is useful when you need to toss your power adapter in your bag or backpack.

Bottom Line

The ElevationHub is a bit of a niche product. It works well with the 13-inch MacBook Pro, but it's not compatible with the 13-inch MacBook Air and it isn't ideal for the larger MacBook Pro models in all situations giving the charging limitations.

That said, there are some useful perks depending on your desk setup or how you plan to use the ElevationHub, so it's worth checking out for those who are looking for something for travel or those who want a way to add a MacBook accessory or two that's permanently tucked away.

How to Buy

The ElevationHub is priced at $39.95 for the Hub alone, or $49.95 for the Hub plus 6-foot USB-C cable. It can be purchased from the ElevationLab website.

Note: ElevationLab provided MacRumors with an ElevationHub set for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was received.

Article Link: Review: The ElevationHub Adds an Extra USB Port and SD Card Slot to Your Mac's Power Adapter

 

[Quu]

What? no toaster oven?

Ya know this is a neat product, I like the idea of being able to charge my iPad or Apple Watch from the same power brick that's charging my laptop, in a hotel setting or whatnot etc

 

[cjkastoun]

This is so ugly. And quite unpractical: the power brick usually lays somewhere on the floor or in a dusty corner. Not a place where I can easily plug in or out SD cards memory sticks...

 

[Localcelebrity]

Who asked for this?

 

[synergize]

If your hands are full you could strap that around your arm (jogger) and be on your way! I'd bet ElavationLab never imagined that?

 

[york2600]

That SD card is going to last about 5 minutes before it's snapped in two

 

[ruka.snow]

Thats one interesting way to add a pointless wart to your power brick.

 

[AngerDanger]

I've actually been using a similar product for the past year or so, and it's great!

 

[miketcool]

The practical application for this is when using the outlet in a hotel lamp base. You can strap this adapter to your brick and forget about it. Outside of that, a small docking adapter is the practical solution. What if I want ports but not be tethered to a wall?

 

[spu]

The USB-A port isn't powered from the brick, but from the USB-C device. Unplug your laptop, and loose power. No good as a laptop/phone charger.

 

[dvanwinkle]

I've actually been using a similar product for the past year or so, and it's great!

View attachment 1690883

That is some commitment. I'd give you some gold if this were Reddit.

 

[rybak17]

USB 2.0

 

[TravelsInBlue]

Somebody throw a Brazzers logo on that image

 

[grayskyz]

I wouldn’t have bought this on my own but, some sent it to me as a gift. It works as advertised. I’ve had it for 4 months now. It actually works well in my very particular instance but, I’ve never felt like I couldn’t live without it and I only used the memory card reader one time. I wouldn’t buy it for 40 but, I found a use for it for free.

 

[erinsarah]

I've actually been using a similar product for the past year or so, and it's great!

View attachment 1690883

Here's a guy absolutely dedicated to his craft of comment forum posting. I appreciate you, man.

 

[TVreporter]

I'm far more interested in seeing the full arm tattoo than this hub which looks ugly.

 

[sub150]

Just buy a better USB-C charger from one of the dozens of companies that sell dual USB-C ports in their brick.

 

[G5isAlive]

"The ElevationHub is a bit of a niche product."

The very definition of niche, not a MacBook Air, too small, not a 16" MacBook Pro, too big, but the 13" MacBook Pro is just right. That is, if you don't mind butt ugly, have your power brick on hand (as said, hotel room desk lamp), and are a photographer/videographer that needs that card slot. I salute the two of you out there!

edit: I hope MR got some sort of sponsorship out of putting this on their main page. just saying.

 

[justperry]

I hope MR got some sort of sponsorship out of putting this on their main page. just saying.

Note: ElevationLab provided MacRumors with an ElevationHub set for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was received.

As for the product, what a silly product.

 

[manu chao]

This is so ugly. And quite unpractical: the power brick usually lays somewhere on the floor or in a dusty corner. Not a place where I can easily plug in or out SD cards memory sticks...

It’s only practical for 10% of users, how dare they waste resources on developing this. If you are part of this 10% minority, tough luck, we have majoritarian rule here. [/sarcasm]

Oh, and for any use with a permanently attached drive (eg, Time Machine), the floor is often enough not a problem (you might have ’bought’ a SD card slot you don’t use but strangely most people seem to prefer to rather have more ports than less even if they don’t need all of them).

 

[manu chao]

"The ElevationHub is a bit of a niche product."

The very definition of niche, not a MacBook Air, too small, not a 16" MacBook Pro, too big, but the 13" MacBook Pro is just right.

How dare anybody sell 61-W power supplies, they only serve the niche between the MBA and the 16” MBP.

 

[manu chao]

Just buy a better USB-C charger from one of the dozens of companies that sell dual USB-C ports in their brick.

Can these dual USB-C port chargers also act as a hub, ie, provide a data connection between the two ‘devices’ plugged into their ports?

 

[DeftwillP]

That is some commitment. I'd give you some gold if this were Reddit.

Didn't watermark it.....go get that sweet, sweet karma. Then we'll see somebody repost it and get 10x the rep. God, I love reddit and hate it at the same time.

 

[G5isAlive]

How dare anybody sell 61-W power supplies, they only serve the niche between the MBA and the 16” MBP.

Normally I would agree with you about devices not needing to serve the whole community, but my comment was that this was a niche product. very very very niche. I said nothing about whether it should be made or not. nothing about if the minority shouldn't be served. Yawns. BTW, they don't serve the niche between MBA and 16" MBP. The serve that niche, narrowed down to people who have ready access to their power bricks (even fewer), and don't want to carry any better suited hub (even fewer), and need only two very specific connections, and need them enough to want a hub, but not a hub with more connections. So yeah. NICHE. that's my point. what is yours other than to troll?

 

[G5isAlive]

Can these dual USB-C port chargers also act as a hub, ie, provide a data connection between the two ‘devices’ plugged into their ports?

And let's talk about those hub features... you lose them if its not plugged in. all two of them. Not a very useful hub.