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Satechi Previews Mac Mini Hub With SD Card Slot, Three USB-A Ports, and Up to 4TB Storage Slot

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Well-known Apple accessory maker Satechi today previewed a hub for the new Mac mini that will enhance the computer in a variety of ways.

Satechi-Mac-Mini-Hub.jpg

First, the hub adds three USB-A ports to the Mac mini, after Apple went all-in on USB-C and Thunderbolt ports on the latest models.

Second, the hub gives the Mac mini an SD card slot, which is something it otherwise lacks. Just like on the Mac Studio, it is a front-facing slot.

Third, the hub includes an NVMe enclosure that allows you to add an SSD with up to 4TB of storage to the Mac mini. This can both expand the Mac mini's storage and allow you to avoid Apple's expensive storage upgrade prices.

The hub is made out of aluminum and looks similar to the Mac mini. Satechi ensures that the hub will not impact airflow or Wi-Fi connectivity.

Satechi has yet to announce pricing for the hub, and availability in the U.S. does not begin until spring 2025. In an email, a spokesperson said there will also be a version of the hub without an NVMe enclosure. According to the product page, those who sign up for email updates will receive 20% off the price of the hub when it is released.

Article Link: Satechi Previews Mac Mini Hub With SD Card Slot, Three USB-A Ports, and Up to 4TB Storage Slot
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2024/11/21/satechi-previews-m4-mac-mini-hub/
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Didn't see that coming so soon ! I have the Mac Mini M2 Pro with the Satechi Hub and a 2 TB NVME.
Right now the 4TB Samsung 990 Pro is on sale for Black Friday for just $380 CAD.

If you want to upgrade a Mac Mini M4 to 4 TB, you're out of luck. But you can go to 2 TB for a whopping $1,000 CAD. If you have a Mac Mini M4 Pro, then you're in luck! For just $1,500 you can upgrade to 4 TB.
 
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LelandHendrix said:
Wake me up when somebody makes a thunderbolt version of precisely this. (preferably tb5 but I’ll take tb4)
Click to expand...

"precisely" except why do some of these cap the m.2 at only 4TB when 8TB sticks exist? I presume maybe the latter adds a bit more heat that isn't managed but I'd prefer they build them for what is available vs. half of what is available myself.

Black Friday last year had 8TB m2. for under $700... unlike Apple's $2200 for only the "upgrade" option.

Maybe it's a psychology thing where buyer might be facing a config of the hub costing more than the computer... but that seems easily addressed by comparing- say- an 8TB config this way vs. an 8TB config of the computer itself.
 
HobeSoundDarryl said:
"precisely" except why do some of these cap the m.2 at only 4TB when 8TB sticks exist? I presume maybe the latter adds a bit more heat that isn't managed but I'd prefer they build them for what is available vs. half of what is available myself.
Click to expand...

That is assuming this is a technical limit and not simply the limit of what they are prepared to support at this time.

Given the nature of the USB mass storage and UASP protocols, a device that supports more than 2TB shouldn't have any problem with 8, 16 or whatever else may be sold in the future. Unless the bridge chip has imposed some kind of artificial limit.

I've seen HDD enclosures do something similar - advertising limits of 3, 4, 6, 8, 12 or 16 TB simply because that was the largest size drive available when it was last developed/tested and the manufacturer doesn't want to risk claiming support for something they can't test. But in actual practice, I've found that as long as the enclosure advertises something greater than 2TB, it works with everything (2TB is a critical value, because it is the limit of what a 32-bit block-address can support, with larger sizes all using 64-bit addresses.)

It will be interesting to see what happens if someone puts an 8TB stick in that enclosure.
 
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why would they cap storage at 4tb? I literally just ordered the WD Black 8TB SSD that's on sale for $599. these things that are designed for the Mac mini always looked so cool to be but they're always crippled in some way. They're always 10gbps when I'm buying the acacis 40gbps regular enclosures.
 
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shamino said:
That is assuming this is a technical limit and not simply the limit of what they are prepared to support at this time.

Given the nature of the USB mass storage and UASP protocols, a device that supports more than 2TB shouldn't have any problem with 8, 16 or whatever else may be sold in the future. Unless the bridge chip has imposed some kind of artificial limit.

I've seen HDD enclosures do something similar - advertising limits of 3, 4, 6, 8, 12 or 16 TB simply because that was the largest size drive available when it was last developed/tested and the manufacturer doesn't want to risk claiming support for something they can't test. But in actual practice, I've found that as long as the enclosure advertises something greater than 2TB, it works with everything (2TB is a critical value, because it is the limit of what a 32-bit block-address can support, with larger sizes all using 64-bit addresses.)

It will be interesting to see what happens if someone puts an 8TB stick in that enclosure.
Click to expand...

Yes, I find this too and have- in fact- inserted "too much" m.2 in a slot claiming "up to" <LESS> and it worked fine. And yes, have done the same for MANY years with HDD capacities > "up to" limits advertised. At least per my one-person experience, it "just works." I don't recall one instance where it did not.

But still, if I was selling new tech, I'd spend the money to test the largest capacity so the marketing can spin largest capacity vs. introducing this idea of capped capacity. For some buyers, that might make them shop around for a similar offering that can accommodate more... when- in fact- this one may very well be just as good at the same "more." I just don't get why these tech companies do this when they can easily buy and test the "more" options.
 
Where / how is an SSD installed? What's on the backside of the hub? Does it require AC power?
 
Rychiar said:
why would they cap storage at 4tb? I literally just ordered the WD Black 8TB SSD that's on sale for $599. these things that are designed for the Mac mini always looked so cool to be but they're always crippled in some way. They're always 10gbps when I'm buying the acacis 40gbps regular enclosures.
Click to expand...

The reason for this is the limited bandwidth. All of the ports and slots and whatnot tb supports get a fixed portion of the overall bandwidth. Tb5 is going to solve most of these limitations by 80-120gbps brute bandwidth force, but prepare yourself to pay a substantial premium for this.
 
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HobeSoundDarryl said:
"precisely" except why do some of these cap the m.2 at only 4TB when 8TB sticks exist? I presume maybe the latter adds a bit more heat that isn't managed but I'd prefer they build them for what is available vs. half of what is available myself.
Click to expand...

HobeSoundDarryl said:
I just don't get why these tech companies do this when they can easily buy and test the "more" options.
Click to expand...
This observation of mine is speculation. I wonder if only a very tiny minority of their anticipated customer demographic would choose to use 8-terabyte SSDs, would people with desire and intent to pay the cost for that instead prefer Thunderbolt rather than USB-C (to maximize their anticipated value, or for demanding workflows that need that kind of storage), and would encouraging that mindset lead to people thinking USB-C is too limiting and nudge people toward competitor Thunderbolt products?

Again, very speculative. If the new product has the internally housed SSD data throughput 'speed' limitations of the current USB-C equivalent, it's something to think about.
 
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Good thinking: I find that 8TB SSD vs. 4TB SSD is not that much different in price- especially at Black Friday pricing and when one applies probabe use terms measured in many years. Again, I picked 8TB up last year for under $700.

I DID put it in a Thunderbolt enclosure already on hand but I'm looking for another this year to put into a more portable "on the go" USB 3.2 enclosure also already on hand. At least for my purposes- which can include a fair amount of 4K video editing- USB 3 via m.2 can be quite fast... or shall I say "fast enough."

4TB or even TWO of them would be cheaper and perhaps that's another driver here. To me, I'd rather carry less than more and pay the extra (but not Apple 3X-5X extra) for that benefit.

Wild guess: this thing would probably take 8TB just fine... but if I was them, I'd want that in the marketing vs. this cap number to simply mitigate any "better shop around" doubts for those who may want bigger storage.
 
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