Satechi redesigns its hub to fit the new, smaller M4 Mac mini

AppleInsider

Satechi has announced its new Mac mini Stand & Hub, a pint-sized hub with a card reader, a NVMe Enclosure -- and which brings back USB-A ports.

Satechi's new Mac mini M4 Stand & Hub

Apple introduced the new M4 Mac mini in October. The diminutive desktop has shrunk even further, now with a five-by-five-inch footprint.

To welcome the new Mac mini to the lineup, Satechi has created a hub that pairs perfectly with it -- the Mac mini M4 Stand & Hub.

Designed to fit neatly underneath the M4 Mac mini, Satechi's new hub doesn't add bulk to your desk. With its aluminum enclosure, the Mac mini M4 Stand & Hub appears to be a natural extension of your Mac.

It features three USB-A ports, allowing you to use your favorite legacy devices, flash drives, or dongles. A built-in SD card reader lets you easily transfer data to and from the Mac mini.

It also supports up to 4TB of extra space, thanks to the NVMe enclosure. Satechi says it supports most SSD sizes, including 2230, 2242, 2260, and 2280, and that you'll get 10Gbps transfer speeds.

Currently, there's no word on pricing, though Satechi offers a similar hub for older Mac mini models that costs $100. The Mac mini M4 Stand & Hub is expected to begin shipping in Spring 2025.

Regardless of what it ends up costing, Satechi encourages customers to sign up on the Mac mini M4 Stand & Hub product page to know when it is available for purchase. Customers who enter their email will also receive a 20% discount.



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Doodpants

Since it sits under the Mac, they should have included a mechanism that can poke up at the power button.

jeffharris

Only 10Gbps transfer speed? 

That kind of blows, especially since the new mini has Thunderbolt 5 ports.

A couple extra USB-C ports would be nice, too. Aren’t we all trying to get rid of USB-A?

williamlondon

Doodpants said:

Since it sits under the Mac, they should have included a mechanism that can poke up at the power button.

Maybe they decided that negative nellies and children weren't their target market.

Clarus

jeffharris said:

Only 10Gbps transfer speed? 

That kind of blows, especially since the new mini has Thunderbolt 5 ports.

If you sit down and think it through, both decisions make complete sense.

10Gbps for the SSD is because the dock is a USB-C hub, and the 10Gbps max data rate of USB 3.2 is what is limiting the speed. So having the slot is like getting a free USB 3.2 SSD enclosure, because that is exactly the max speed of the $30 NVMe SSD enclosures you get through Amazon which I have several of. (10Gbps is fast enough for most uses.) No disappointment there.

Now, you can go and be an armchair quarterback and say “But SSDs can do 6000MB/sec and Thunderbolt 5 would let that happen, therefore this dock is useless.” OK cowboy, again, think this through: To achieve that, the hub would have to be upgraded to support Thunderbolt 5. But the problem is this hub is a replacement for their old Mac mini hub which the article said retails for around $100. And you are not going to find any Thunderbolt 5 peripherals (except a cable) on sale today for anywhere as low as $100. 

If you buy a 40Gbps Thunderbolt 4 SSD enclosure today, the going rate is about $120. That alone is already a higher price than what this dock is supposed to cost. Based on the current prices for Thunderboltl 4/5 hubs, a hub like this supporting Thunderbolt 5 through the SSD slot and multiple ports would probably cost no less than $300. Satechi could probably sell a few of those, but Satechi knows they will sell a lot more $100 USB-C docks.

So I like to think of this dock’s SSD slot as a free $30 10Gbps USB SSD enclosure that saves a port. And that is a nice feature.

jeffharris said:

A couple extra USB-C ports would be nice, too. Aren’t we all trying to get rid of USB-A?

We have not seen a full spec sheet yet, only a pre-announcement. I also hope there are more USB-C ports. But by including USB-A, Satechi has again been smart. If you have actually read comments on the new Mini, one of the biggest complaints is no more USB-A ports. Yes, I am trying to get rid of USB-A myself, and all new accessories I buy are USB-C, but I still have several 10-15 year old USB-A devices that are still doing their job and do not need to be thrown out just because. A lot of people are like that. (Yes, of course we could all go out and buy more USB-A to C adapters, they’re cheap. But sometimes it’s nice to just plug it in.)

By featuring the USB-A ports, Satechi is directly addressing that one concern that people have about wanting at least a few USB-A ports, and that will probably help sell a few docks. Because if I had an M4 Mac mini this hub looks like a nice mix of features, especially if it’s only around $100.

headfull0wine

What I also like about this fitting underneath the Mini is that it lifts the air intake up off the desk a bit. Thus reducing dust intake. 

MplsP

williamlondon said:

Doodpants said:

Since it sits under the Mac, they should have included a mechanism that can poke up at the power button.

Maybe they decided that negative nellies and children weren't their target market.

You mean people with common sense?

williamlondon

MplsP said:

williamlondon said:

Doodpants said:

Since it sits under the Mac, they should have included a mechanism that can poke up at the power button.

Maybe they decided that negative nellies and children weren't their target market.

You mean people with common sense?

Oh ffs, grow up.

danox

jeffharris said:

Only 10Gbps transfer speed? 

That kind of blows, especially since the new mini has Thunderbolt 5 ports.

A couple extra USB-C ports would be nice, too. Aren’t we all trying to get rid of USB-A?

The people don’t know what they want, which is why you don’t ask them beforehand……. “Steve Jobs” or “Henry Ford”  

9secondkox2

Doodpants said:

Since it sits under the Mac, they should have included a mechanism that can poke up at the power button.

If you don’t have a problem picking up your phone to turn it on, you really don’t have have problem reaching under the tiny Mac mini to turn it on the few times a year that you’ll be doing so. 

9secondkox2

That was fast. They’re on the ball. 

First heard of satechi in 2016 when I needed an adapter for my MacBook Pro. Took a chance and discovered a great product. 

If I have need of a mini, I’ll definitely be getting this to compliment it. 

bobolicious

jeffharris said:

Only 10Gbps transfer speed? 

That kind of blows, especially since the new mini has Thunderbolt 5 ports.

A couple extra USB-C ports would be nice, too. Aren’t we all trying to get rid of USB-A?

Perhaps they will offer a 'pro' version at a requisite price...?

sflocal

Clarus said:

jeffharris said:

Only 10Gbps transfer speed? 

That kind of blows, especially since the new mini has Thunderbolt 5 ports.

If you sit down and think it through, both decisions make complete sense.

10Gbps for the SSD is because the dock is a USB-C hub, and the 10Gbps max data rate of USB 3.2 is what is limiting the speed. So having the slot is like getting a free USB 3.2 SSD enclosure, because that is exactly the max speed of the $30 NVMe SSD enclosures you get through Amazon which I have several of. (10Gbps is fast enough for most uses.) No disappointment there.

Now, you can go and be an armchair quarterback and say “But SSDs can do 6000MB/sec and Thunderbolt 5 would let that happen, therefore this dock is useless.” OK cowboy, again, think this through: To achieve that, the hub would have to be upgraded to support Thunderbolt 5. But the problem is this hub is a replacement for their old Mac mini hub which the article said retails for around $100. And you are not going to find any Thunderbolt 5 peripherals (except a cable) on sale today for anywhere as low as $100. 

If you buy a 40Gbps Thunderbolt 4 SSD enclosure today, the going rate is about $120. That alone is already a higher price than what this dock is supposed to cost. Based on the current prices for Thunderboltl 4/5 hubs, a hub like this supporting Thunderbolt 5 through the SSD slot and multiple ports would probably cost no less than $300. Satechi could probably sell a few of those, but Satechi knows they will sell a lot more $100 USB-C docks.

So I like to think of this dock’s SSD slot as a free $30 10Gbps USB SSD enclosure that saves a port. And that is a nice feature.

jeffharris said:

A couple extra USB-C ports would be nice, too. Aren’t we all trying to get rid of USB-A?

We have not seen a full spec sheet yet, only a pre-announcement. I also hope there are more USB-C ports. But by including USB-A, Satechi has again been smart. If you have actually read comments on the new Mini, one of the biggest complaints is no more USB-A ports. Yes, I am trying to get rid of USB-A myself, and all new accessories I buy are USB-C, but I still have several 10-15 year old USB-A devices that are still doing their job and do not need to be thrown out just because. A lot of people are like that. (Yes, of course we could all go out and buy more USB-A to C adapters, they’re cheap. But sometimes it’s nice to just plug it in.)

By featuring the USB-A ports, Satechi is directly addressing that one concern that people have about wanting at least a few USB-A ports, and that will probably help sell a few docks. Because if I had an M4 Mac mini this hub looks like a nice mix of features, especially if it’s only around $100.

sflocal

This at the minimum should support Thunderbolt3.  It’s junk status in my book.  Why cripple a fast NVMe drive at 10gb/s?

Alex_V

sflocal said:

This at the minimum should support Thunderbolt3.  It’s junk status in my book.  Why cripple a fast NVMe drive at 10gb/s?

Get the product out the door fast. Be the first to market with a size and finish to match the new Mac. Test the market with standard components. If that succeeds, then you can bring out the delux and super delux versions. 

nubus

So many options! With the mini M4 internal storage being fast at 256 GB there is no need to first spend $200 with Apple to get a fast internal disk.

For $200-400 we have:
Apple: 1 TB upgrade for $400 - super pretty but very expensive.
Satechi: 1 TB + dock for $200 (but 10 Gb/s) - pretty and with a dock but not blazingly fast.
OWC USB4: 1 TB for for $250 (40 Gb/s) - OK speed and cheaper than Apple but more cluttered.
OWC Thunderbolt 5: 2 TB for for $400 (60 Gb/s) - double the storage of Apple.

Would be interesting to see a zero footprint enclosure with USB4 or TB5. The options for mini M4 are amazing.

danox

If you have money to spend on all that stuff (hubs 200-400) on the front end, you might as well just upgrade the Mac Mini right off the bat.

Another thing to consider is how long do you think you’re gonna be keeping the Mac mini? If you’re going to keep it for more than five years
(longevity) you’re probably better off just biting a bullet and upgrading, the resale value of an upgraded Apple computer after three-five years is very good across all product lines in comparison to a PC computer.

davidinsf

Doodpants said:

Since it sits under the Mac, they should have included a mechanism that can poke up at the power button.

Has anyone seen this competitor to Satechi? It looks very interesting, it has a solution for the power button and it can hold up to an 8TB SSD. I’ve just never heard of the company. Anyone have any insight or experience with this company?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DP9JM1ZL/?coliid=I3CMXGEKPBTBVM&colid=2ULORJNFR9733&psc=1&ref_=list_c_wl_lv_ov_lig_dp_it