Satechi Stand & Hub Review: An Essential Companion for Your Mac Mini or Studio

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Finding the right USB hub isn't easy for any computer, but with a design as iconic as the Apple Mac mini or Mac Studio, it's even more difficult. The Satechi Stand & Hub for Mac mini and Mac Studio is, as the name implies, precisely meant to be used with these two computers, and it turns out that it's just as functional as it is aesthetically pleasing.

The Satechi Stand and Hub is purpose-built to fit underneath the Mac mini or Mac Studio and add a useful selection of ports on the front, but it also packs an M.2 NVMe SSD drive bay for easily expandable storage.

Plenty of products try—at least a little bit—to look like Apple products, but few actually do. Either the material is a little too shiny, or not shiny enough to match the product it's supposed to be a companion for.

The Satechi Stand & Hub does an admirable job at fitting in with a Mac mini, and I mean that literally. I didn't have a Mac Studio on hand to test with, but the Satechi sat beneath my Mac mini as if it came from Apple, quietly adding the front-mounted ports.

One thing I've never liked about the 2020 M1 Mac mini I use as a dedicated audio computer is how easily it moves on the desk it sits on. The Satechi Stand & Hub didn't completely solve this issue, but it made the computer less easy to accidentally nudge around.

It's worth pointing out that the hub has slightly raised sections where the rubber feet of the Mac are meant to go. These, combined with vents built into the base, help make sure the Mac stays cool.

Hooking up the Satechi Stand & Hub to your Mac mini or Studio couldn't be simpler. The stand has a built-in USB-C cable that is just long enough to reach the appropriate port on your Mac. Plug it in and that's it.

The bad news is that the Satechi Stand & Hub doesn't support any Thunderbolt connectivity. The good news is that it's got basically every other port you wish was on the front of your Mac. You get a 10Gbps USB-C port, a 10Gbps USB-A port, and two 5Gbps USB-A ports, alongside a 3.5mm headphone jack.

You also get both a full-size SD card and a microSD card slot on the front. If you frequently need to read from multiple cards or transfer between them, this is a super-useful feature.

This product would already be a worthwhile USB hub just for its form factor and port selection, but it has an ace up its sleeve in the form of additional NVMe storage. Open up what looks like a battery compartment on the bottom, and you'll find a slot to plug in an M.2 SSD drive. There's even a handy tiny screwdriver included.

This is a feature you never need to think about, but it's also incredibly useful to have. Apple computers have been famously difficult or impossible to upgrade for years, and adding storage is essentially out of the question for a Mac mini or Mac Studio unless you count USB drives. Having the ability to easily add another drive's worth of storage adds to the value here.

Like both the Mac mini and Mac Studio, the Satechi Stand & Hub is only available in one color: silver. The hub retails for $99, but it's important to keep in mind that this doesn't include any storage. If you plan to add an SSD, you'll need to factor that into the cost.

When it comes to competitors, there are other similar docks with the same shape and rough feature list, but I haven't tested those, so it's tough to compare. Satechi has a history with products like these for Apple computers, like the Satechi Pro Hub Max, so that gives the company a leg up on much of its competition.

It's difficult to overstate how well the Satechi Stand & Hub for Mac mini and Mac Studio fits in with its compatible computers, especially given the price. Sure, you can add front-facing ports with another dock, but it won't fit in as well with the Mac aesthetic and dimensions as the Satechi.

You may or may not use the built-in NVMe SSD functionality, but it's certainly nice to have. It does add to the price, and you should keep that in mind, but for most people, it's better to have the capability and not need it than not have it at all.

In the end, it's simple: do you wish your Mac mini or Studio had more storage or extra ports on the front? If the answer is yes, this hub will solve that problem for you.

The Satechi Stand and Hub is purpose-built to fit underneath the Mac mini or Mac Studio and add a useful selection of ports on the front, but it also packs an M.2 NVMe SSD drive bay for easily expandable storage.

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