SATECHI Type-C Aluminum Monitor Stand Hub with USB-C Data USB 3 0 Micro SD Card Slots 3 5mm

Sturdy and sleek design that compliments the Mac look. Raises the monitor to add space for the Mac Studio and as a bonus adds additional ports. Read more

Overall very happy with the purchase. I wasn't willing to spend the crazy money for the adjustable stand for my Mac Studio monitor. This raises it up just the right amount with the added benefit of some ports. The only issue I've noticed is that it won't allow the computer to recognize both an SD and micro SD card at the same time. I can only have one in at a time. The color is pretty much an identical match for the Apple stand Read more

Quality hub, works without a hitch. Read more

I know that this hub gets a little negative feedback because it doesn’t have the very latest ultra fast port standards. I agree slightly but in reality no hub can keep up with newer and newer standards and even the newest will be called outdated or obsolete after a while. I think such comments miss the purpose of this particular product and while I won’t say they are using it wrong, I can say that my opinion is that it is a first class product in every way, in materials and workmanship and human centric design and functionality. I’ll detail those below. FIRST IMPRESSIONS This item’s primary reason for existence isn’t simply as a hub, if that’s all you want there are countless listings for every shape and utility you could want, most of them at a far lower price. And it’s not just a monitor stand either, although you would be hard pressed to find many stands that are as strong and beautiful to look at than this one. The idea here is to marry an excellent aluminum stand that is a perfect aesthetic match for current generation Mac products and add just the right number of front mounted ports for the user to plug in a SD media card, a couple of flash drives and/or other USB 3.0 or Type C peripherals for temporary use. That’s it. It actually can be used with iMac desktops, Mac Mini’s or in my case the HP Z2 G9, which is sort of a Mac Mini Pro rival. One thing all of those devices have in common is that they put most or all of their ports on the back of the computer. Making access inconvenient, so what this hub buys you first and foremost is convenience. FORM AND FUNCTION Unlike the majority of hubs this one puts every user port on the front and connects by one standard Type C cable, which can be pretty much a perfect length, to your computer. I say can be because they have an ingenious cable management system hidden from view under the stand so you can adjust the cable length to exactly what you need to plug the Type C connector into your computer, and if your computer doesn’t have one handy this comes with a matching adapter. As stated you can use the hub all by itself, over an external data drive, under almost any monitor or Mac desktop or as a stand for a Mac Mini (which is a brilliant idea). Or you can get creative if you happen to own a Z2 G9 Mini workstation, which is a close match in color and a perfect match in size. My dilemma was whether I wanted to put it under my workstation to make room for my MyBook external data drive or if I wanted to put it on top of the workstation to make access to the hub’s ports more convenient (you can face that same decision with Mac Mini’s). Using it as a stand won out because I opted to separate the two units with four heat dissipating pads to permit some extra cooling for the G9, which does get a little warm in use. The pads also keep the two units essentially pasted together so they don’t slide around. The hub has excellent non-slip feet of its own by the way. USING IT When used as a riser for my mini workstation the height of the hub places the USB ports, headphone jack (I love having it right there on the front) and media card slots at an ideal position for use without an effort at all, and I stress that point because when ports are on the back or sides of computers and workstations they are a pain to use. Period. As mentioned, the connecting cable is well thought out as an you can adjust it to the ideal length without excess. That isn’t as often true as it should be. SUGGESTIONS Sure, every person who buys one of these could come up with a list of things they would add to it, but in my opinion the beauty of it is it’s pure simplicity. Yes there could be ports at the back to plug in your keyboard or mouse or something else but those things should be plugged directly into the computer itself. The same is true with ultra fast or power hungry peripherals - if you bought them for their speed you should never be plugging them into this or any hub anyway, plug them directly into your computer for the ultimate speed you paid for or get a true high speed docking station. So that erases negativity that these ports aren’t ultra fast, who cares? They are convenience ports, nothing more. YES NO MAYBE Yes ninety bucks was a lot to pay for just a simple hub. But it solves every single thing I was lacking in terms of a camera card slot, a couple of USB ports to plug one or two flash drives into and a Type C port to plug my transportable MyBook to go to the office and back. It is build especially well from once piece of solid aluminum, the ports and well spaced and a nice fit for my peripherals and it has a bonus of a very tiny status light which is helpful because the Z2 G9 designers decided to make the one on the PC very dim. It’s refreshing when a company gets a product so right. I like it and this one really earns a full five stars. Read more

Apple makes beautiful products but if there's a choice betweeen beauty and useability, the company always chooses beauty. So we have the super clean design of the iMac with thin edges that make it impossible to include an optical drive and all the ports on the back of the monitor. The design also precludes any adjustment of the height of the monitor. The Satechi Type-C Aluminum Monitor Stand Hub, while continuing Apple's clean design aesthetic, raises the height of the monitor and eliminates the need to reach around to plug peripherals into the machine. At $90, I consider it a terrific value. You can leave external drives and other permanently attached devices plugged into the back of the iMac while having ports supplied by the stand in front for earphones, SD cards, thumb drives and other USB peripherals like a microphone where they can plugged in and out in front without struggle. You give up one USB-C port in back (or a regular USB-A port with an included adapter) to attach the stand's hub and get it back on the front as well as three more USB-A ports, among the others already mentioned. And because the ports are in a narrow strip of black plastic, they aren't noticeable unless they are being used. It has a clever feature allowing you to use only as much of the cord as needed from the USB-C port in the back to reach under the stand to the back of the hub. A previous review mentioned this stand felt light but I fail to see how that is a problem. Its footprint is wide enough to avoid any tippyness. I also don't have a problem with the rubber feet going through a hole to be secured with a bit of rubber where you can see them. My one problem is that Amazon didn't show availability of this very attractive stand in the silver that would match a non-Pro iMac like mine. (The Satchi site shows it; if I missed it on Amazon, oh well). But even in aluminum anodized in a dark gray that would match the iMac Pro it still looks great. Oh, and it is high enough for an Apple optical SuperDrive to fit under it. Read more

I considered many different monitor stands and the Satechi won out because: - it was EXTREMELY sturdy with absolutely no bowing from the weight of my iMac - it raises it just enough without being too high - it does not take up too much desk space - it has replaced the standalone hub I was using which did not always work - it totally matches my iMac and looks great Definitely happy with my purchase. Read more

Update, I exchanged the first unit and the second one works fine. Looks great and would be perfect if I could actually plug anything into it. USB and USB-C are virtually impossible to plug into. Sadly, I’m going to have to return it. Read more

It is a nice, solid, well engineered piece. Could use more USB-C ports, Thunderbolt support and higher speeds. Read more