The Mac Mini, a great little productivity machine, but it has two problems, the requirement for more ports and accessibilty to those ports.
The solution to this could be this 5 in 1 USB-C hub, which from a productivity sense, could make this simple hub one of the more essential accessories that you could get for your Mac Mini, particularly if you have base model.
The base Apple Silicon Mac mini’s only have two USB-A ports and two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports on the back, which may not be enough for some users who need more connectivity options, while the highest end M2 Pro Mac Mini has the additional two USB-C ports.
This accessory not only acts as a USB hub for additional ports but also as a vertical stand for your Mac Mini and has an extra compartment for adding an SSD. Let’s take a closer look at it.
The hub is made out of aluminium, with a finish that is very similar to the Mac Mini itself, it has a quite robust USB-C cable which attaches to the Mac Mini and a grooved section with rubber pabs which will hold the Mac Mini in place and ensure there’s no direct aluminium surface interaction between the hub and your Mac Mini.
On the front, there are slots for a mini SD and TF cards, a full size SD card and two data transfer only USB-C 3.2 slots which depending on your device, has transfer speeds up to a maximum of 10Gbps. With the hub, you’re able simultaneuosly read and write from multiple cards and accessories attached to the hub.
On the bottom, removing the magnetic cover, reveals the slot where you can attach a M.2 SSD card, to expand your Mac mini’s storage without having to buy an external hard drive.
When you do insert the SSD, you get rubber caps and a thermal pad to prevent the SSD from moving when attached and to reduce the working temperature of the SSD to prevent any thermal throttling and performance issues. Both of these and the instructions are included in the box.
Setting up is simple, place the Mac Mini in the stand, plug the USB-C cable into the back of the Mac Mini, the light on the front of the hub will illuminate.
Being in the hub is also going to help with any heat dissipation generated from the Mac Mini’s processor, but knowing how well Apple have made their sillicon chips there’s minimal heat generation anyway.
But what if you don’t have a Mac Mini? Well that doesn’t mean you can’t benefit from using this hub, if you’ve got an another computer or a laptop then this can also be used as a hub for those as well connecting them directly to hub with the USB-C cable.
A productivity essential that adds more ports and storage to your Mac mini in a sleek and elegant way, that fits the Mac Mini aestetic and doesn’t look out of place. With something like this, you’re going to be able to say goodbye to the days of having to reach behind your computer just to get access to the ports. I highly recommend getting a USB hub to anyone who needs more connectivity and performance from their Mac mini.
Check out my video review of this blog: https://youtu.be/_DrwsEavY-Y