Satechi Stand & Hub for Mac mini with SSD Enclosure evaluation:

Highest Costs Lately: Satechi Stand Hub for Mac mini with SSD Enclosure

Suitable with: Mac mini M2 & M2 Professional 2023; Mac mini M1 2020; Mac Studio 2022

Dimension: 7.8 x 7.8 x 0.9 inches

Ports:

• 1x USB-C (5Gbps)
• 3x USB-A (5Gbps)
• SD card reader (UHS-I, 104MBps)
• microSD card reader (UHS-I, 104MBps)
• 3.5mm audio jack
• Inside SSD enclosure

Whilst Apple’s Mac mini is a tiny powerhouse of a pc blessed with a variety of ports on its again, its entrance face is unhelpfully naked, devoid of even one to hand port or slot. There’s not anything however a bit of mild to turn that it’s on. Apple undoubtedly put the “mini” in “minimum” when it got here to the head-on seems to be of its diminutive desktop pc.

The Mac Studio has the similar width and intensity because the Mac mini however is taller. The Mac Studio additionally boasts two 10Gbps USB-C ports (Thunderbolt 4 at the M1 Extremely style) and an SD card reader on its entrance. On the again, the Mac Studio and M2 Professional Mac mini ports are the similar., whilst the entry-level M2 Mac mini has two fewer Thunderbolt 4 ports.

The Satechi Stand & Hub for Mac mini fixes the mini’s naked entrance face by means of including 4 USB ports, each SD and microSD card reader slots, and three.5mm audio jack port. The inclusion of the cardboard readers is essential because the mini lacks this get right of entry to level for affordable moveable garage. The cardboard readers are rated at UHS-I (104MBps)–312MBps UHS-II would have introduced speedier transfers, however maximum customers received’t realize the adaptation. A 512GB microSD card prices about $60/£50 on-line–a super-cheap approach of including garage.

Satechi says that the Stand & Hub’s USB ports are knowledge simplest and don’t seem to be able to charging, even if in our checks we had been in a position to fee an Apple Watch and iPhone fairly briefly the use of the Stand & Hub’s USB ports.

The Stand & Hub additionally fixes some other main Mac mini limitation: the non-user-upgradeable inner garage. if you need greater than the bottom 512GB garage within the Mac mini, Apple makes you pay handsomely on the time of acquire (upgrading to 1TB prices $200/£200) after which doesn’t allow you to later improve the garage your self.

Within this mini accent is an enclosure the place you’ll be able to set up an SSD made as inner garage board for computer systems. It’s inexpensive compared to Apple’s build-to-order choices–a 1TB inner SSD prices round $50/£50.

Foundry

The hub sits completely below the Mac mini, so making the blended pair of units seem like a slender Mac Studio however with extra to hand frontal ports. It connects to the pc by means of an built-in USB-C cable behind the hub. The ports are USB somewhat than Thunderbolt and rated at 5Gbps (gigabits in step with 2d) in comparison to Thunderbolt’s 40Gbps.

Any other technical facet to imagine is the kind of SSD that the enclosure helps. The Satechi Stand & Hub helps SATA M.2 SSDs, and no longer quicker NVMe M.2 SSDs. NVMe M.2 SSDs (with theoretical switch speeds of as much as 20Gbps) are extra performance-driven than SATA M.2 SSDs (max 6Gbps). On the other hand, that max 6Gbps restrict implies that the hub’s 5Gbps USB bandwidth is ok and there’s no USB bottleneck. Many of us don’t want blistering garage speeds and will stay any information that want low-latency speedy functionality at the Mac mini’s personal rapid inner SSD and transfer extra archival garage at the enclosure’s SSD.

Foundry

NVMe SSD forums are extra not unusual than SATA M.2 SSDs at the moment, so be sure you make a selection the proper kind when shopping for this accent. Putting in the SSD within the Stand & Hub is understated, and the correct-sized screwdriver and screw are incorporated.

This stand hub additionally suits below Apple’s Mac Studio, so it’s an affordable approach so as to add speedy garage to Apple’s latest pro-level desktop, too.

When you don’t want the additional space for storing, Satechi additionally provides its Stand & Hub for Mac mini in a style with out an SSD enclosure for $20 much less. We’d counsel spending the additional for the Stand & Hub for Mac mini with SSD Enclosure as you could in finding your self desiring the additional space for storing later down the road.

The Satechi Stand & Hub for Mac mini with SSD Enclosure is to be had in Silver colour simplest, like the most recent fashions of Mac mini itself. The style with out the enclosure may be to be had in a House Grey colour, so will fit the 2018 Mac mini style, with which it’s suitable–the style with the SSD enclosure isn’t suitable with the older Mac mini.

Final analysis

The Satechi Stand & Hub for Mac mini with SSD Enclosure provides an affordable repair to 2 of the Mac mini’s barriers: no front-facing ports and stuck, non-upgradeable inner garage. Including a terabyte or two by means of the SSD bay will prevent masses in comparison to shopping for from Apple.