Newsletter
Satechi is known for its chargers, cables, and also docks and hubs. Their newest dock, the Dual Dock Stand, is a rather interesting one. It does a lot of things right, and one thing pretty wrong, unfortunately. Which we’re going to go over in this detailed review of the Satechi Dual Dock Stand, and help you figure out if you should buy it or not.
First off, let’s talk about the price. The Satechi Dual Dock Stand is pretty pricey, coming in at $149. Now this dock does have a lot more ports than other docks out there, and even has an NVMe SSD enclosure, which we’ve not seen before on a dock. So given that, it’s not too crazy that this is priced at $149, but that leads me to think that this is not for everyone.
Satechi’s Dual Dock Stand has ports galore
The Satechi Dual Dock Stand is pretty impressive, when it comes to its port selection. It has an Ethernet port, two USB-A ports, a DisplayPort, two HDMI (4K60) ports, along with three USB-C ports. One of those USB-C ports is a PD port. Which is what you can use to charge your laptop.
That’s basically every port you could ever want for docking a laptop. But there’s one port that is missing. And it’s something that creators really need in a dock – SD card slot. As someone that takes photos for reviews like this, and other aspects of AndroidHeadlines, not having a SD card slot available on this dock is pretty much a dealbreaker, unfortunately.
While I’ve been using this on my desk for the past few weeks, I’ve actually really disliked it, because I needed to plug in another dongle to this dock, just to get a SD card slot. Literally if Satechi had added a SD card slot here, instead of a couple of USB-A ports, it would be perfect, or even in place of one of the HDMI ports.
Add extra storage for your laptop
A very underrated feature of this dock, and why it’s still getting a pretty high rating in this review, is the NVMe SSD slot. On the bottom of the dock, there’s a slot that you can open, and there’s space for you to add a NVMe SSD in there. Now this won’t work as internal storage for your laptop, but more like a portable SSD. It’s a pretty easy way to add in some more storage, especially for those that need more storage, but don’t want to buy a new laptop. Especially with how cheap NVMe SSDs are these days.
This is something that I have not seen from any other dock or hub, so far. It’s something that I do think others will copy, however, as it is a really smart feature to have.
Pulling double duty, as a stand
Perhaps my favorite feature of this dock is actually the fact that it is a stand. It’s shaped like a wedge, with a big of rubber on the top. This is so that your laptop can rest on it, at an angle. This keeps your laptop from moving around too much, and also makes it easier for airflow. Which can be an issue with laptops, especially if you have it closed when plugged into a monitor. As there’s not a lot of space for that heat to go.
It’s a very underrated feature, in my opinion, and it’s what makes this stand pretty impressive, despite not having the SD card slot as I mentioned throughout this review. But the stand is about the perfect width for my MacBook Air M2 13.6-inch, so for others that have larger laptops, it should still work fine, it just won’t be lined up perfectly.
Should you buy the Satechi Dual Dock Stand?
When it comes down to whether I should recommend this dock or not, it comes down to two things. That’s, the price, and the lack of a SD card slot. There are a ton of great options on the market today, that offer all of the ports you need, at a lower price. But on the flip side, this does offer some other features that those don’t. Like the optimized airflow and the NVMe SSD slot for expanded storage. It also supports up to three monitors – now this will depend on your laptop’s specs. Which is not something that a lot of the others can say.
The Satechi Dual Dock Stand is a good dock, but is it the best? No. You can pick up the Satechi Dual Dock Stand from their website.