Satechi Debuts Pro Hub Mini for New MacBook Pro Models

[marmiteturkey]

This looks like a rushed-out, ungodly mess to me. Not flush with the keyboard (what if I forget it’s there and shut the lid - cracked screen? Bent lid?); blocks ports; weird, truncated corners that are not consistent with the MBP design language.

I think there will be much better solutions out in a couple of months if waiting is an option. For me, my twelvesouth staygo still works perfectly well and gives me the missing ports (Ethernet and usb a) that I needed.

 

[Macintosh TV]

As much as I dislike hanging dongles, I’m thinking this is mostly going to be on one’s desk. Why then is there a need to flush mount it and block 2 usb-c ports?

It plugs into 2 USB-C ports. Likely one for passthrough power and the other for the other accessories.

These are portable hubs, generally more meant to be put in a bag and brought with you. Desk ones generally have a single cable rather than plugging directly into the machine.

 

[torontotim]

LOL - what are these, about $20?

 

[Cameraman12]

The precision required to get the ports perfectly aligned in an adapter like this is something I would only trust Apple with now. The last dock I bought like this ruined my Thunderbolt 3 ports so that cables would barely stay in after 3 months of use.

 

[orbital~debris]

Sneaky? The Satechi site pics shows it clearly is not flush with the keyboard level.

Sorry, I did not look at the Satechi site itself. But the photo supplied/used in this news item is a little sneaky in the sense that due to the angle of the shot you cannot see the height mismatch unless you look very closely.

 

[mazz0]

Personally I wish they'd put contacts on the bottom for a proper snap-in-and-out dock.

 

[reklex]

should have put it on the brick like the new Hot Wheels iMac, but I guess Apple has their reasons

and then people would complain about magsafe not being able to transfer data but being able to pass ethernet.

 

[torontotim]

For on the desk, get a 2nd hand Thunderbolt dock. I paid about USD$100 for this Targus DOCK220 and it works great with my ASUS 28" 4K Displayport monitor and all the bits I need to plug in like speakers, webcam, gig ethernet, logitech receiver and it has a USB C and A port on the front for temporary things like external drives etc.

One Thunderbolt cable to connect and it delivers 85W charging I think. Would be AWESOME if somehow Apple had incorporated Thunderbolt 4 into the MagSafe cable but this is fine.

Then I have USB C dongles in my backpack to give me all the same ports on the road if I need them, which given the ports on the MacBook I really don't anymore. I grabbed a few USB C > A adapters for the odd time I need to plug something into the MacBook. I just leave them on the devices themselves or plugged into the dongle for safe keeping.

 

[bluespark]

Finally the MBPs have all the needed ports and you're going to get this ugly thing? Yeah, perhaps for working at a desk so that you connect only one USB-C, but otherwise I really don't see the point. Besides, this is more expensive (69USD) than other more basic USB-C docks that will already do the job.

The "needed ports" varies by individual, no? I'm generally in favor of Apple's strategy to not include every port under the sun, but I also frequently take my computer to various offices where I don't know in advance what the connection options will be. This would be a great accessory for that purpose.

 

[MacRS4]

I read that as 'porn hub mini' and now I need to go book some time with my therapist.

 

[thadoggfather]

not offering a USB-A or two was a blunder imo

USB-C adoption is still far from 100%, especially legacy devices that need a dongle permanently attached

 

[Mac Fly (film)]

MBP in the future could add one USB-A port and the option to buy a power brick with Ethernet (not sold as default). Further, on the standard and fast changers Apple currently offers should have 2 USB-C ports onboard: use one and your MBP will change at full-speed, use the two ports the your MBP will charge at reduced speed until second device gets near 100%, at which point that port will trickle charge and your MBP will return to full charge speed. All Apple laptop power brings should be GaN and have two USB-C ports from now on.

 

[Mac Fly (film)]

not offering a USB-A or two was a blunder imo

USB-C adoption is still far from 100%, especially legacy devices that need a dongle permanently attached

I makes the device less useful, 100%. The port story would be complete for me with just a single USB-A port, which they had plenty of room for. They should still consider adding one going forward.

 

[thadoggfather]

I makes the device less useful, 100%. The port story would be complete for me with just a single USB-A port, which they had plenty of room for. They should still consider adding one going forward.

'solved the port problem' is a bit misleading to me with this release.

HDMI and an SD card reader are nice and return of MagSafe to be sure but the USB-C dilemma continues

integrated higher impedance headphone jack is gonna be wasted on most people too, and they're still gonna pack their DAC if they wanna get serious about driving demanding cans.

 

[SirAnthonyHopkins]

Potentially sneaky photography here – it looks as though it may not be flush with the keyboard level of the Mac…?

It's obviously not, as it's considerably thicker than the MacBook and that thickness isn't going to go underneath, where it'd make your Mac lift off the desk. Of course it does't sit flush with the keyboard.

 

[veeco3110]

That promo code has me so a double take to make sure I was on the right forum…

 

[madsonit]

So you give away 2 thunderbolt ports for just a few usb ports? At least if they gave you back the 2 TB4 ports. But no, you just get usb. Meh.

 

[n3sh]

Is this blocking headphone jack?

 

[newdeal]

should have put it on the brick like the new Hot Wheels iMac, but I guess Apple has their reasons

Likely the reason is the iMac is meant to sit in one spot and remain plugged in at all times with a relatively strong connection to its power cable so ethernet in the power adaptor can make sense. Even though the connection is magnetic it is unlikely to be jarred or come loose on the iMac accidentally. The laptop on the other hand has magsafe and no one wants to be walking by or moving their computer on the desk and have their ethernet come unplugged because the magsafe popped out slightly (even if it then reseated itself by magnet). I mean there is a reason that ethernet is basically the only plug with a clip on it to retain the connection no matter what. You wouldn't really want that on the easiest to break contact on the computer

 

[businessnumbersmoneypeopl]

not offering a USB-A or two was a blunder imo

USB-C adoption is still far from 100%, especially legacy devices that need a dongle permanently attached

Luckily, USB-C > A adapters take extremely little space and don't cost much. It was a whole different story with the huge hubs needed for the 2016-19 Mabcooks. I agree that having a USB-A port would have been ideal, but the present situation is close enough.

 

[djbuddha]

Very nice. Would be auto-buy for me if it had 10Gbe Ethernet.

You beat me to this. 10GbE to Thunderbolt 3 prices are a little too steep for me at the moment.

 

[Hankster]

Why can’t the ports just be built in? The laptop is thick enough now.

Let's add a CD reader too.

 

[cjboffoli97]

The time to move past USB-A (which came out in 1996) is more than overdue. USB-C is so much better.

 

[topdrawer]

Is this blocking headphone jack?

yes, but it looks like it adds it back on. this device is a mess.

 

[nothingtoseehere]

The time to move past USB-A (which came out in 1996) is more than overdue. USB-C is so much better.

Sorry to disagree but millions of people have billions of USB-A-devices around and still use them, including me. USB-A is old but still fully functional. Would have been easy for Apple to include one additional USB-A-port on each side.