The market is really full of USB-C HUBs, just a quick search on Amazon to find them of all types and prices: however the Satechi Type-C Aluminum Stand & Hub for Mac Mini represents a very original and convenient solution for those who has precisely the little one from Apple. Once positioned, it looks like the natural physical continuation of the Mini but at the same time provides a remedy for some of the shortcomings that the small Apple machine has.
Satechi Type-C Aluminum Stand & Hub design
The Satechi Type-C Aluminum Stand & Hub for Mac Mini is contained in a simplified package; in addition to the hub, in fact, we find only a small information brochure that is quite useless. In fact, just place it under the Mac mini, connect the cable to have it ready.
The shape is the same, millimeter by millimeter, of the Mac mini: even the color is practically the same, with minimal differences that however emerge only after a careful and really fussy examination (probably due to the different material used), so much so that it is difficult to believe it was not made by Apple itself.
Its purpose is to expand the connectivity of the Mac mini. Once put into operation, you will have at your disposal three USB 3.0 type A ports, a USB-C port, an audio jack, an SD and Micro SD reader. Recall that the Mac mini has 4 Thunderbolt ports (USB-C), two traditional USB and a 3.5 mm jack. In practice, with this Hub you will have a port that you do not have (SD reader) and a total of five USB ports, five Type-C and two headphone jacks. Basically everything you need
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The hub is made of plastic and is built to form the basis for Apple's computer. The computer rests on the HUB without hooks or joints; it is the very weight of the mini that makes the two pieces one. To those who ask if it is possible to keep the Mac and the hub separate, we answer no. The cable is in fact very short and perfectly aligned with the port near the Mac mini power supply. After all, the Satechi Type-C Aluminum Stand & Hub has no power supply, the only cable is the USB-C one that connects to one of the 4 Thunderbolt ports of the Mac
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At work
The doors, as mentioned, are all placed frontally. A small LED lights up when the HUB is on, just below the standard Mac mini: in detail, the HUB turns on and off with the Mac, you don't need to do anything.
The ports obviously offer incredible practicality, especially for all those temporary connections, but other than that it is the extreme versatility of the USB-C connection on the Thunderbolt 3 port that we really like.
Maybe if there is something challenging we can connect it to the USB-A ports behind the Mac mini but for flash drives, SD or some Hard Disk on the fly the front doors are very comfortable
In our tests we connected a Western Digital 2 TB USB-A disk (the WD_Black P10), a second Western Digital 5 TB USB-A disk (the WD My Passport), a Sandisk Ultra Flair 32 GB USB key. and a SanDisk Ultra Luxe 16GB Flash Drive and the HUB handled everything smoothly.
Obviously the speed is calibrated on a USB-C connection, lower than the Thunderbolt 3 from which it draws, but it is normal; for most USB disks or flash drives, that's a long way off. But what we liked the most was the availability of the SD and Micro SD reader, units that Apple has decided to eliminate compared to the older generation of Mac mini but which here in the editorial office continues to be very popular.
The only flaw, the HUB does not offer any cooling system: since the Mac mini tends to heat up a (nice) little bit when you put it under stress, it would have been desirable to have a small fan that would help the dissipation, also considering that the 'Plastic HUB does not help to disperse heat in the lower part.
In Pro mode, or Enterprise for those who use the Mac mini in the rack, Satechi is a very valid help. Here we see it in a desk, but remember that it may happen that the Mac mini as a server is also in a closet, where the possibilities of movement are minimal
Conclusions
Satechi Type-C Aluminum Stand & Hub for Mac Mini is a truly remarkable and useful accessory to practically everyone who has a Mac mini: if it is true that the design of Apple in is always valuable, on the other hand the need to operate in a comfortable way having them accessible from the front, with the USB-A, USB-C and SD ports is common.
In the professional field, given that Apple also offers the Mac mini as a Rack, the Satechi unit becomes very convenient both as a base for a rack and as a middle unit between all the units.
The practicality of the USB-C port is such that there is no need to struggle with autonomous power supplies, the Mac mini does everything and choosing a USB-C connection instead of a Thunderbolt 3 is not a problem, because in the Mac mini others remain active three ports available to the user.
Finally, the price, according to the writer, is perfectly in line with the capabilities of the product, considering that on the one hand the design is impeccable and on the other that practically all HUB solutions on the market are designed (based on the length of the wire) for laptops. and not for desktop computers.
Pro:
Versus
A heat dissipation system would have been useful
Price:
Satechi sells its products directly, including this HUB, on Amazon.it where it is offered for 79.99 euros.
