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Aug 09, 2023

Top 3 USB

Looking for a powerful USB-C hub for your Intel or Apple silicon Mac mini? We are going to list down 3 of the best ones available right now. Mac mini is one of those computers that has a complete

Looking for a powerful USB-C hub for your Intel or Apple silicon Mac mini? We are going to list down 3 of the best ones available right now.

Mac mini is one of those computers that has a complete array of ports. Shocking, given it's a computer from Apple. But those ports sit at the back and it would be great if there was a way to access everything from the front.

What if you can do that? What if you can do that and also give your Mac mini a vertical sitting space on your desk? What if you could also add more storage to your Mac mini? Too much suspense, I know. So, let me introduce you to 3 USB-C hubs for the Mac mini that are surely going to impress, starting with the one everyone knows and loves.

SATECHI Type-C Stand & Hub with SSD Enclosure

When it comes to visual aesthetics, no one does it better than Satechi. It almost feels like it's a company owned by Apple. It blends in seamlessly with their products. This USB-C hub is no different at all.

This USB-C hub sits under the Mac mini - Apple silicon or Intel - and connects using a USB-C cable at the back. Once connected, you get access to a fast USB-C port that supports up to 5Gbps speeds. There are also 3 USB-A ports, a headphone jack and a couple of card slots.

Instead of having a single card slot, this one has 2. One of those card slots is for microSD while the other one supports the full size SD card. You can expect UHS-I speeds from these slots so you won't be slowed down while copying something to your Mac mini.

Satechi could have ended the story there, but it went a mile further by including an M.2 SATA drive support inside the USB-C hub. This means you can add extra storage to your Mac mini for just about anything. This is a particularly great feature if you think the base 128GB or 256GB storage is not going to cut it for your workflow. Just add an M.2 SATA drive to the hub, connect it to the back of your Mac mini and boom, you now have extra storage apart from extra ports at the front.

A hub like this should cost a lot of money but Satechi is only asking $106.99 for it which is not a bad deal at all. This is the kind of thing which you're only going to buy once and will sit under your Mac mini for years to come.

Buy SATECHI Type-C Stand & Hub with SSD Enclosure

Qwiizlab USB C Hub with Dual Drive Enclosure

If you think the Satechi drive is limited in terms of storage then this option from Qwiizlab is surely going to impress with extra features.

The Satechi enclosure, while an amazingly engineered hub, only accepts a single NVMe drive to expand the storage of the Mac mini. This hub from Qwiizlab has space for two SSDs. One of them is NVMe while the other is SATA. If you love having extra choice, you have it here.

The hub keeps on getting better when you look at the array of ports that it offers. At the front, you get 2 USB-A ports that support up to 5Gbps speeds, there's a USB 3.1 port which supports speeds of up to 10Gbps. microSD and SD card readers are also there while the latter supports UHS-I speeds. Rounding things up is the single USB-C 3.1 port that supports 10Gbps speeds.

At the back, you get two USB-C ports that are used to connect this hub to your Mac mini while there's also a DisplayPort port with support for 4K output at 60Hz. There's also HDMI with support for 4K output at 60Hz. If you need extra HDMI, you'll find it here.

The biggest highlight of this hub is support for two drives at the same time - NVMe and SATA SSD. You can also use a SATA HDD, if you have one lying around.

For a price of $105.99, this is not a bad deal at all. This hub will even work with the Mac Studio.

Buy Qwiizlab USB C Hub with Dual Drive Enclosure

Minisopuru Mac Mini Dock

Last but not the least in our list of hubs is one that will not only add more functionality to your Mac mini, but also save you some precious desk space.

The Minisopuru dock doubles as a stand that keeps your Mac mini upright. If you ever wanted to save space on your desk, this is the sort of dock you should buy.

Just dock your Mac mini in the space provided, and it's up to you where you want to place your Mac mini on the desk. We will recommend hiding it away behind your monitor for that minimal and clean look. Rest is up to you.

There is space for adding M.2 MVMe or a SATA drive in this dock - just one, to be exact. But that single drive is enough to grant you extra space you might want to add to your Mac mini.

In terms of ports, everything is quite minimal here. The hub really, really focuses on USB-C ports therefore you get 2 of them on the side and both are 3.2 Gen2. You also get an SD card slot and a microSD card reader. If you're looking for USB-A, you might want to use the ones behind your Mac mini. But hey, who uses USB-A anyway these days, right?

This hub costs just $59.89 and it is quite cheap. If you need a vertical stand for your Mac mini that also happens to be a hub, this is a very viable option.

Buy Minisopuru Mac Mini Dock